In our second discussion with Salim Mansur relating to the history and ideas behind ‘neoconservatism,’ we find ourselves once again confronted with the Noble Lie: the belief that some people (the ‘elites’) are endowed with a natural right to rule other people (the masses).
In stark contrast to the principles upon which America was founded (and to the expression of these principles in the American Constitution), the various ‘noble lies’ that slowly crept into the American consciousness resulted in what Salim calls the ‘warping’ of America’s culture.
Among the manifestations assumed by the Noble Lie was one called the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a foreign policy initiative calling for America’s ‘Full Spectrum dominance’ to rule the nations and resources of the entire world.
Selling that idea to the American people, in a nation conditioned never to go abroad ‘looking for monsters to slay,’ became a fait accompli with American acceptance of the twin myths of ‘American exceptionalism’ and of a ‘chosen people’. Indeed, the establishment of the state of Israel, largely supported by Christian Zionists in the ‘bible belt’ of America, became another justification for America’s going abroad looking for ‘monsters to slay.’ Continue reading »