A Paradox In Conservative Attitudes About America

I've written about this many times, and I wish I could think of a pithy name for it. The substance: many (though not all) conservatives have a reverence for America that is largely based on a view about its moral goodness. These views are largely shaped by WWII and our national conduct therein. However, many conservatives are dismissive--even contemptuous--of the actual principles that made our conduct admirable, e.g. the humane treatment of prisoners.

Sullivan has an interesting quote from Michael Yon on this point. In brief: views about America's moral greatness among non-Americans were strong and deep and largely grounded in our conduct in WWII, especially our treatment of prisoners. (Note that several conservatives (including, as I recall, Stephen den Beste) have argued on this blog that such attitudes are ephemeral and unimportant; I denied it, and the evidence Yon points to supports my position. In my view, America's moral capital is/was among our most valuable assets. It is this moral capital that Bush, Cheney and their minions have squandered.)

It's important, of course, to realize that not all conservatives are of this type--roughly Bush/Cheney conservatives. They're characterized by hyperbolic regard for the U.S. combined with an incompatible, roughly Hobbesian "realism" in foreign policy. (Remember: foreign policy realism is not actually what ought to be called 'realism.' Rather, it's a kind of national ethical egoism according to which we ought to do only what's in our narrow national interest.)

Thing is, you can't get all misty about American one minute, waving the flag and waxing poetic about our moral greatness, and in the next minute emit a spittle-flecked tirade about how we ought to f*ck up them terrorists at Gitmo and teach 'em not to mess with us.

I mean, the latter attitude is insane, the former is plausible though questionable, but one thing is for sure: you can't hold both of them.