Postnationalism is a simple thing. It simply means a world view that is no longer formed by one's national identity, but otherwise. I have assumed this perspective, partly because of my training and education in history and partly because of my religious faith. They're intertwined.
I am an American. But in all reality, this identity was given to me, as a consequence of being born in the United States. If I was born an hour's drive more north than where I was, I'd be a Canadian. And undoubtedly, because of my falling somewhere on the developmental nature vs. nurture continuum, I'd be a different person. I'd look the same, but changes in my upbringing, which would include public school, etc., would have generated a different personality and sense of self. But my postnational perspective wasn't formed by this location of my birthplace, although it is important. It is more complex than that.
History has taught me many things about the origins of the United States. First, it is not exceptional. Fortunate, yes, but not exceptional. Nor were the founding documents of the United States, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, based --- as so many Americans believe --- on the Bible. Hardly! For example, review Article 11 of the US peace treaty with the Barbary states --- the first formal war the US ever fought as an independent nation (if you exclude the Quasi War with France). Instead, the US was founded on secular Enlightenment ideals. The US is not a "Christian" nation per se. The Founders, depending on how you identify them, weren't Christians. But the United States was a nation inhabited by Christians who generally took their faith very seriously; that is, as practically possible. If the US was founded on Christian truth, slavery, for example, would not have been normalized into the Constitution. (See this summary on the New Testament Book of Philemon)
Similarly, the United States has not been set apart as some sort of new Israel, a covenantal nation that was meant to serve God and his purposes. This is a dangerous idea, because if the US was a nation somehow divinely anointed by God for his work then the US Army becomes God's army. Some folks accept this. And nothing is more thought provoking than the current hero worship of American service personnel. They're all heroes. Really? I think not.
As far as I can read in the Bible, the only nation with a covenant with God is Israel.
Am I a proud American? Yes, in many ways as I believe that the US has much to share with and teach to the world. But, logically, no. How can I be proud of something that I did not accomplish? And that I did not earn. I did nothing; I was simply born on the southern side of the 49th parallel. If I had been born elsewhere and had lawfully migrated to the US and satisfied the Constitutional requirements to become a naturalized American, I probably would be prouder of my American identity. But with a vanished sense of American exceptionalism, and the realization that the United States is simply an empire like so many others that had gone before it --- and will suffer the same fate as all those other empires --- this fact puts the big picture into better view. And my faith.
That being said, I'm very, very glad that I was born in Minnesota and not, say, some Third-world nation. Nothing made me more glad to be an American citizen than a trip to Africa. I may not be proud that I'm an American, but I'm sure grateful that I am.
All the above can summarize postnationalism as meaning to let go of the founding myths of the United States and simply accept the historical record. It sure makes the present more understandable!
I am an American. But in all reality, this identity was given to me, as a consequence of being born in the United States. If I was born an hour's drive more north than where I was, I'd be a Canadian. And undoubtedly, because of my falling somewhere on the developmental nature vs. nurture continuum, I'd be a different person. I'd look the same, but changes in my upbringing, which would include public school, etc., would have generated a different personality and sense of self. But my postnational perspective wasn't formed by this location of my birthplace, although it is important. It is more complex than that.
History has taught me many things about the origins of the United States. First, it is not exceptional. Fortunate, yes, but not exceptional. Nor were the founding documents of the United States, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, based --- as so many Americans believe --- on the Bible. Hardly! For example, review Article 11 of the US peace treaty with the Barbary states --- the first formal war the US ever fought as an independent nation (if you exclude the Quasi War with France). Instead, the US was founded on secular Enlightenment ideals. The US is not a "Christian" nation per se. The Founders, depending on how you identify them, weren't Christians. But the United States was a nation inhabited by Christians who generally took their faith very seriously; that is, as practically possible. If the US was founded on Christian truth, slavery, for example, would not have been normalized into the Constitution. (See this summary on the New Testament Book of Philemon)
Similarly, the United States has not been set apart as some sort of new Israel, a covenantal nation that was meant to serve God and his purposes. This is a dangerous idea, because if the US was a nation somehow divinely anointed by God for his work then the US Army becomes God's army. Some folks accept this. And nothing is more thought provoking than the current hero worship of American service personnel. They're all heroes. Really? I think not.
As far as I can read in the Bible, the only nation with a covenant with God is Israel.
Am I a proud American? Yes, in many ways as I believe that the US has much to share with and teach to the world. But, logically, no. How can I be proud of something that I did not accomplish? And that I did not earn. I did nothing; I was simply born on the southern side of the 49th parallel. If I had been born elsewhere and had lawfully migrated to the US and satisfied the Constitutional requirements to become a naturalized American, I probably would be prouder of my American identity. But with a vanished sense of American exceptionalism, and the realization that the United States is simply an empire like so many others that had gone before it --- and will suffer the same fate as all those other empires --- this fact puts the big picture into better view. And my faith.That being said, I'm very, very glad that I was born in Minnesota and not, say, some Third-world nation. Nothing made me more glad to be an American citizen than a trip to Africa. I may not be proud that I'm an American, but I'm sure grateful that I am.
All the above can summarize postnationalism as meaning to let go of the founding myths of the United States and simply accept the historical record. It sure makes the present more understandable!
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