Did Mark Twain Hate America?

Picture from http://www.jimrlong.us/

On our recent and very pleasurable trip the the United States, some of my more conservative friends who we were visiting insisted on showing us one of their new favorite movies - An American Carol. The movie is a railing if highly inconsistent criticism of any and every idea championed by liberal America anno 2008, in particular its anti-war sentiment. The main character of the movie is Michael Moore (“Malone” in the movie), who takes the role as the scrooge of 4th of july – and is visited by three ghosts, amongst them General George Patton and country singer Trace Atkins (proudly playing himself). On his way to salvation and pro-war attitudes, he is slapped in the face repeatedly by an (as always) morally righteous Bill O’Reilly (also played by himself), who warns Moore that he is abusing his freedom of speech by preaching pacifism. In particular, the film echoes conservative America by claiming that Michael Moore and his followers – by questioning the moral superiority of the United States at war – hates the United States.

Now, before we go any further, let me point out that I wholeheartedly agree with those who claim that much of Michael Moore’s work is troubled with rather dubious one-sidedness and even lies or half-lies. While such claims are easy to write off as right-wing propaganda, they are in fact rather well documented (This site on Farenheit 9-11 and this site on Bowling for Columbine are fairly sober). However, I take issue with the claim that his liberal anti-war attitudes – or for that matter his support for public health care or stricter rules for corporations – means that he hates the United States. If anything, one of the absolutely most important characteristics of a liberal democracy is its ability to tolerate active self-criticism. Accusing dissenters of hating one’s country and demanding that they shut up for that reason is dangerously close to rejecting free speech altogether.

One might take this line of thought further and ask what role – if any – patriotism has in liberal democracy. On this topic, I found an article on Mark Twain by Jeffrey Tucker at the libertarian Ludwig Von Mises Institute web site interesting. The article strongly suggests that although Mark Twain’s political views would be considered very conservative by today’s standards, his stance on both patriotism and the use of military force was far more radical than Michael Moore’s, or even that of most contemporary American liberals. To quote him on the matter he argued that “Talking of patriotism what humbug it is… it is a word that always commemorates a robbery.” Furthermore, according to Tucker, “He was an opponent of the Spanish-American War, believed that Filipinos who were harassing US troops were only fighting for their independence, and might have been the only American who publicly defended the Boxers in China as good patriots.” In today’s setting, Twain’s views would be tantamount to hailing the Taliban in Afghanistan and the various Iraqi militias as valorous freedom fighters – a position not even Michael Moore (the “America-hater”) would dare take.

Still, no one would in their right mind would make the claim that Mark Twain hated America. If anything, his literary works are tantamount to a series of beautifully written love letters to the continent and the country. Nevertheless, he derided patriotism and sympathized with America’s enemies.

Mark Twain, white-suited America-loving anti-patriot.

Perhaps there is a powerful logic behind his apparent inconsistency. First of all, there is a strong connection in Twain’s view between patriotism and war. In a very powerful way, patriotism justifies war, and war both necessitates and strengthens patriotism. Both are also powerful means for an aristocratic-cleptocratic oligarchy to maintain political control. Both George Orwell and Friedrich Hayek, amongst many others, certainly echoes this sentiment in their work. In the late 19th and early 20th century, as patriotic nationalism and imperialism was on the rise in Europe, Mark Twain’s vision of the United States would have been one of a country rising above such pettiness and moral corruption. However, the U.S. military involvement in China, Cuba, and the Philippines would certainly have appeared to Twain as a deeply disappointing sign that the country he loved was headed towards what he saw as the morally degenerate patriotic imperialism of Europe.

Is Mark Twain’s anti-war anti-patriotic love for his country no more than a curiosity in the world of political ideology? I think not. Regardless of one’s own political views (mine, one the matter of military intervention, is a firm “it depends”), Twain shows us that there is a big difference between being staunchly opposed to militant patriotism and hating one’s country. This is a lesson for modern America – and perhaps one that can aid in healing the rift between the political-ideological right and left.