When I first started this thread, I had no intention of discussing slavery—or even the Civil War, for that matter. My original aim was to explore the exceptionalism of our system.
In most systems around the world—most governments, most nations—what determines right and wrong is the barrel of a gun. But here, as I see it, we're different. We're supposed to be different. We're governed by principles, and one of those principles is that the people are sovereign. Power—the right to rule—comes from the people.
A sovereign entity, such as a state, cannot commit treason, just as a king cannot commit treason. Treason is an offense against the sovereign. And by definition, a sovereign has no peers—no one at or above their level. So if the people are sovereign, there is no one for them to commit treason against.
As the thread progressed, it seems to me that the question of whether America is exceptional breaks down along political lines. I might be wrong, but from my perspective, the right tends to see America as exceptional, while the left does not. I've even heard in past threads some on the left refer to America as "stolen land."
That raises an interesting point. If America is stolen land, how can one ethically participate in its economy? Wouldn’t that make you the recipient of illegal gains? When the police catch someone with stolen property, that person doesn’t get to keep it—it’s confiscated and returned to the rightful owner.
So if you truly believe America is stolen land, then staying here and participating in the economy is immoral. Your house, your home—they are stolen property. You cannot possess them, because the person who sold them to you had no right to do so. They belong to the rightful owners—in this case, Native Americans. Therefore, you should return them.
You cannot even earn a paycheck, because your employer doesn’t own the business he operates. He has no right to profit from stolen land, and no right to pay you to help him do so. If you believe America is stolen land, then logically, you should leave.
