Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

ChangingtheParadigms 57

Constitution,andtheBillofRightstobesomethinglikesacredscrip-
ture:revelationsofeternalprinciples,validforalltime.TheConstitution
iswidelyandjustlyacceptedasa distillationofpoliticalwisdomanda
still-livingguideforcontemporaryconduct.TheBillofRightsandthe
DeclarationofIndependencearevenerated as timeless expressionsof
principlessummoningustorealizetheirnobleideals.Wedonotgener-
allyaskwhetherthesedocumentsareadequateforourpurposes;theBill
ofRightsandtheDeclarationjudgeus,wedonotjudgethem.
TheprofoundandextraordinarytraditionalismofAmericansextends
intootherfields.OurlawcourtsstillfollowtheprecedentsofSupreme
CourtChiefJusticesJohnMarshallandJohnJay;ourmilitaryacademies
honorthecourageandteachthetacticsofourRevolutionaryandCivil
Warheroes.
Itisonlyourdiplomatsandourforeignpolicythinkerswhofind
littletoinspirethemintherecordofourpast.ThepositionoftheUnited
Statesinworldpoliticshaschangedstrikinglyfromgenerationtogen-
erationandevendecadetodecade,andthisnaturallytendstoobscurethe
underlyingcontinuitiesinourdiplomatictraditionandcauseeachgen-
erationtofeel thatitismeetinghistoricaltestsforthefirst time.Pre-
ciselybecausetheascentoftheUnitedStatesfroma weakconfederacyto
a worldempirewassorapid,itisunderstandablethatAmericansarefor-
everdiscountingtherelevanceoftheirgrandparents'andeventheirpar-
ents'experiencesandideas.Thegenerationofr895,whichforcedBritain
toacknowledgeAmericanhegemonyintheWesternHemisphere,could
hardlysympathizewiththegenerationofr860,whichtrembledinfear
lestBritaininterveneintheCivilWar.Thegenerationofr860,simi-
larly,couldscarcelyimaginetheworldofr825,inwhichtheUnited
Stateswasanalmostinsignificantpartoftheglobalpoliticalsystem.
Perhaps,butthislineofargumentprovestoomuch.Ittakesusback
toFord.Iftheforeignpolicyoftheeighteenthcenturyhaslittletoteach
contemporarydiplomats,whyshouldthe campaigns ofWashington,
Sherman,and Lee have anythingto teach ourgenerals today? Why
shouldthepoliticalinstitutionsoftheeighteenthcentury-formedin
sucha differentworldforsucha differentpeople-stillguideustoday?
Whatrelevancedolegalprecedentsinvolvingfootbridgesandtheregu-
lationsaffectingthebranchesofnow-defunctnationalbankshavefor
contemporarylawyers,engagedastheyareinhigh-stakesbattlesover
typesofpropertythatdidnotevenexistwhenMarshallponderedthe
legaltheoriesoftheMarylandbench?