In this clip, the character Senator Armstrong is on top of a mech, talking to the main character Raiden. He is trying to get the US up in arms against Pakistan on a failed assanation attempt against the president. Using the memes(beliefs in a society that can pass through generations), he promotes the idea that War is the lifeline of the US economy, that it is the US’s responsibility to maintain the War economy just like the SOP(fictional faction, authoritarian govt.) Armstrong, promotes the idea that the USA has three great “isms”, Nationalism,Unilateralism, and Materialism. These “isms” is what the senator believes that defines American political culture. He says that the only way to make the economy boom is through warmongering, how private military companies(PMCs) and arm manufacturers will put more money in the loop allowing economic growth.
Nationalism; The most iconic of Armstrong’s “isms”, has been part of the American political culture since the beginning. John Adams wrote in a letter to Benjamin Rush, states that loyalty to the US is obligated with our lives, that we shouldn’t be defined by party or ethnicity, but to be American. “Our Obligations to our Country never cease, …instead of being Frenchmen or Englishmen; Federalist or Jacobin. We ought to be American..to defend our exposed cities and prepare a Naval Force.” John Adams. The Letter was written in 1806 after Adam’s presidency, when Benjamin Rush was the treasurer of the US mint.
Unilateralism, the idea of US isolationism. The idea of US isolation has been around since Washington left the presidency. In Washington’s Farewell address former president Washington wants the US to never be in any long term alliances with foreign powers to avoid being brought into wars. “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.” During the French revolution, then Napoleonic wars, the US didn’t help their former french allies in either conflicts with the exception of trade, but tried to remain neutral nonetheless.
Materialism has gone hand in hand with the US political culture. French writer Alexis de Tocqueville concluded when he visited the US in the 1830’s. Tocqueville’s experience in the US caused him to believe that the US had immense love for property ownership and rights. “I know of no other country where love of money… expresses for the theory of permanent equality of property”. Tocqueville was learning about American culture for his book Democracy in America. Discovering the materialist culture in US politics
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- Do you consider the three “isms” a core of our political culture? Why or why not?
- Has the US changed over time with unilateralism and isolation?
- Does the US need a huge military budget?
- Is nationalism in the US bad?
- Do you think the US is as materialist as it was in the 1830’s?
D) I like these assignments, it’s fun to find quotes for each point you make, using historical figures
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21/pdf/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21.pdf
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-5238 https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/9715-alexis-de-tocqueville/about-country