Americanism
The Fourth Great Western Religion
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- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی
June 1, 2007
This work is an overgrown magazine think piece designed to provoke. Mission accomplished. A "Weekly Standard" writer and Yale computer science professor, Gelernter is at his best in describing the Puritan vision of America as a "city on a hill" that has held for four centuries, as well as the immeasurable and undeniable influence of the Bible on American thought. But when he argues that "activist Americanism" is the logical flowering of the American experiment or that our temporal religion ("Americanism") is on a par with the spiritual ones, he is on shakier ground. That Gelernter argues the winnability of the Vietnam War at this remove shows the uphill nature of his argument that America is a positive influence on the world, whether we are bringing down evil regimessometimes with words, sometimes with deedsor inspiring the oppressed everywhere. His is an interesting and accessible volume that generates what good political books should dodebate and thoughtand this makes it a success even if one disagrees with it. An optional purchase for academic and public libraries.Michael O. Eshleman, Kings Mills, OH
Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2007
American Enterprise Institute fellow Gelernter argues that America is a biblical republic and Americanism a biblical religion encompassing an American Creed with three political ideals (liberty, equality, and democracy) and a doctrine, American Zionism, incorporating the biblically derived ideas of a chosen people in a promised land. Americanism is global. Theres no need to be American, or to believe in God, to subscribe to it. Still, to understand Americanism, you need to understand America. Gelernter discusses the emergence of Americanism through several crucial events in American history: the Puritan exodus from England, the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, the cold war, and Islamic terrorism. He insists that his book is neither history nor group portrait but instead an essay in folk philosophy. Not everyone will agree with Gelernters conclusions (e.g., If there is to be justice in the world, America must create it), but he offers fascinating food for thought.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)
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