Posted on 02/01/2009 9:15:24 PM PST by ventanax5
Wherever the Western vision of political order has gained a foothold, we find freedom of expression: not merely the freedom to disagree with others publicly about matters of faith and morality but also the freedom to satirize solemnity and to ridicule nonsense, including solemnity and nonsense of the sacred kind. This freedom of conscience requires secular government. But what makes secular government legitimate?
That question is the starting point of Western political philosophy, the consensus among modern thinkers being that sovereignty and law are made legitimate by the consent of those who must obey them. They show this consent in two ways: by a real or implied “social contract,” whereby each person agrees with every other to the principles of government; and by a political process through which each person participates in the making and enacting of the law. The right and duty of participation is what we mean, or ought to mean, by “citizenship,” and the distinction between political and religious communities can be summed up in the view that political communities are composed of citizens and religious communities of subjects—of those who have “submitted.” If we want a simple definition of the West as it is today, the concept of citizenship is a good starting point. That is what millions of migrants are roaming the world in search of: an order that confers security and freedom in exchange for consent.
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
*Bump*
City Journal always has good stuff.
Thank you for posting this. I feel brought to the very heart of the essential nature of our culture and why it has to be protected from nihilist forces.
No, that’s irony.
“Forgiveness and Irony What makes the West strong”
I’ll tell you what reveals character, at least in the United States, probably not “the West”.
A large airplane was successfully landed on the water of the Hudson River. The passengers remained calm as the pilot said “Evacuate”. They did it well, and found ferries, fireboats, police boats and sightseeing boats right at hand to step onto, all within a few minutes.
Nobody rehearsed this or saw it coming. It’s never happened before. But the Port Authority, the Airport Tower and all the boat captains immediately did the right thing, quickly. The concern was for the passengers of the floating Airbus, and everybody did his or her job.
A pilot from another airline, who was a passenger, said she lost her wallet. Captain Sullenberger opened up his and took out a twenty dollar bill and gave it to her.
Character got revealed very, very clearly, and it was beautiful!.
BTTT!
bttt
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