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An important interpretation of the American tradition, December 30, 2006
Answering the question of why Americans are not interested in innovative ideas about government, Boorstin argued that theory seems "needless" to Americans because of the "giveness" of American values and institutions. By "giveness," he meant the following: American political values are automatically defined for us by our geography and history. It is expressed in the following 3 ways:
a. PAST: Our Founding Fathers equipped us with a complete political theory. The Constitution itself became a substitute for political theory by settling all the questions of liberty, justice, rights, sovereignty, etc. All political questions are resolved by appealing to the Constitution. Think for example how the 2002 Presidential election was settled, not by guns, or impassioned speeches by ideologues, but in the Supreme Court. Even though, 50% disliked the decision, nearly all accepted it as legitimate.
b. Present: our theory seems implicit in our institutions. We believe that our theory of life is embodied in our way of life. Rugged individualism and self-government are natural consequences of the manner in which the country was settled. To be an American means to profess a creed of democratic values. We talk about "Americanism" or describe some people as "un-American." What does that mean? Is it possible to be un-Canadian, un-French, un-British?
c. Continuity: Since we did not experience a class revolution, we have no past to deny. Revolutionary governments reject their past. Our history has been, by contrast, one of uninterrupted development. Our government has legitimacy because has been long enduring.
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