Jefferson and Steibeck's Vision of America

While many may enjoy pigeonholing America into the quasi-theocracy category of government, seeing as numerous federal fixtures have been injected with a healthy dose of Christianity, it may surprise John Q. Public to learn that many of our Founding Fathers envisioned no such state. Just take Thomas Jefferson’s Second Inaugural Address in which he clearly states that, “In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general government. I have therefore undertaken on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it,” effectively squashing this idea of a morally-grounded union. Instead, Jefferson, like Steinbeck, rests his faith on the capitalist system and the general liberty it creates for the citizens, all the while cautioning against the hazards of run-away consumerism: “I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers”. Considering America is founded on the self-conflicting ideals of “mutual selfishness” capitalism and simultaneous liberty and safety, it would seem only logical that we have evolved into a land of paradoxes. A nation full of immigrants who demand equal treatment, yet wish to retain their native identities. A country in which panning the ‘fat cats in Washington’ is a national pastime, but which still beats its chest resoundingly when merely critiqued by an outsider. But, most importantly, a society that advocates fiscal moderation, as Mr. Jefferson did, but then turns around and gorges itself on frivolity. And so, in this light, John Steinbeck portrays the American way of life not as the pinnacle of human civilization or the righteous ‘city upon a hill’, as many tend to...

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...mbodying the old truism “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, America – however one chooses to define it – is indeed greater than these petty quarrels and scuffles for America stands for something greater: liberty. This notion of the human will triumphing over any superficial institution that man create is ultimately what defines the American way of life. Minorities have the liberty to believe they are dual citizens, voters have the freedom to be two-faced, and all Americans have the right to delude themselves on their fiscal policies because it is these idiosyncrasies - these curiously human traits - that make America what it is. And so, upon final reflection on the American way of life, it would seem that despite all of our hypocrisies and paradoxes, the liberty guaranteed to us is the key to unlocking the American dream and prospering into the future.