Crusader War College

The Jacksonian Compact

The sad fate of Mr. Nicholas Berg, the American citizen kidnapped and murdered by Al Qaida in Iraq, has important Jacksonian implications that I feel must be explored. I will base my exploration on Walter Mead's "The Jacksonian Tradition", the core document that I have found defines what it means to be a Jacksonian. Indeed, it is the only one I've found so far.

One of the keystone concepts of Jacksonianism is the concept of "honor", based on a moral code to which adherence is strict. Mead lists apects of the code of honor followed by historical Jacksonians, a few of which I find objectionable. Not because I don't think that Mead is wrong in listing them, but that they represent latent contradictions that, when properly analyzed, can be shown to be unworthy of inclusion to the code. I'll discuss them separately, because I don't want to complicate the discussion of the positives by injecting objections to the negatives.

Here are my takes of the core elements of the Jacksonian code of honor, derived from Mead's discussion.

Self reliance. A person is supposed to make their own way in the world, and not be a leech, living off the substance of another. Children are raised to become self-reliant and self-supporting. Those who meet with undeserved misfortune are given a helping hand, but those who refuse to work are despised.

Equality. All who pull their weight are regarded as equals. There is deep suspicion of elites, imposed authority, and those demanding special privileges not available to the community.

Individualism. Here's what Mead says about this characteristic:

The Jacksonian does not just have the right to self-fulfillment—he or she has a duty to seek it. In Jacksonian America, everyone must find his or her way: each individual must choose a faith, or no faith, and code of conduct based on conscience and reason. The Jacksonian feels perfectly free to strike off in an entirely new religious direction. "I sincerely believe", wrote poor Mrs. Trollope, "that if a fire-worshiper, or an Indian Brahmin, were to come to the United States, prepared to preach and pray in English, he would not be long without a ‘very respectable congregation.’" She didn’t know the half of it.

Entreprenurial Daring. Jacksonians traditionally came from the pioneers, from those who settled the early West and the South. They tend to be an enterprising lot, and take risks to achieve success. Although we have no open frontiers easily reachable to us now, the transformation of the Jacksonians from an agrarian base to the economic middle class means that the new frontiers are in the business realm, with the starting of a new business or a new career being the equivalent of putting down stakes and starting a homestead.

Courage. Mead says it best:

Finally, courage is the crowning and indispensable part of the code. Jacksonians must be ready to defend their honor in great things and small. Americans ought to stick up for what they believe. In the nineteenth century, Jacksonian Americans fought duels long after aristocrats in Europe had given them up, and Americans today remain far more likely than Europeans to settle personal quarrels with extreme and even deadly violence.

Jacksonian America’s love affair with weapons is, of course, the despair of the rest of the country. Jacksonian culture values firearms, and the freedom to own and use them. The right to bear arms is a mark of civic and social equality, and knowing how to care for firearms is an important part of life. Jacksonians are armed for defense: of the home and person against robbers; against usurpations of the federal government; and of the United States against its enemies. In one war after another, Jacksonians have flocked to the colors. Independent and difficult to discipline, they have nevertheless demonstrated magnificent fighting qualities in every corner of the world. Jacksonian America views military service as a sacred duty. When Hamiltonians, Wilsonians and Jeffersonians dodged the draft in Vietnam or purchased exemptions and substitutes in earlier wars, Jacksonians soldiered on, if sometimes bitterly and resentfully. An honorable person is ready to kill or to die for family and flag.

Jacksonian society draws an important distinction between those who belong to the folk community and those who do not. Within that community, among those bound by the code and capable of discharging their responsibilities under it, Jacksonians are united in a social compact. Outside that compact is chaos and darkness. The criminal who commits what, in the Jacksonian code, constitute unforgivable sins (cold-blooded murder, rape, the murder or sexual abuse of a child, murder or attempted murder of a peace officer) can justly be killed by the victims’ families, colleagues or by society at large—with or without the formalities of law. In many parts of the United States, juries will not convict police on almost any charge, nor will they condemn revenge killers in particularly outrageous cases. The right of the citizen to defend family and property with deadly force is a sacred one as well, a legacy from colonial and frontier times.

How does this apply to Mr. Nick Berg? The following passage from Mead explains how:

Although cultures change slowly and many individuals lag behind, the bulk of American Jacksonian opinion has increasingly moved to recognize the right of code-honoring members of minority groups to receive the rights and protections due to members of the folk community. This new and, one hopes, growing feeling of respect and tolerance emphatically does not extend to those, minorities or not, who are not seen as code-honoring Americans. Those who violate or reject the code—criminals, irresponsible parents, drug addicts—have not benefited from the softening of the Jacksonian color line.

I now speak as a Jacksonian to my fellow Jacksonians. Although Mr. Berg is a Jew and a minority, there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that he was a code-honoring Jacksonian in spirit and deed. Let's run down the list:

Self reliance. Check. He was no welfare laggard, but the owner of a cell phone company in Iraq to set up cellular infrastructures.

Equality. See above. He was pulling his own weight and making his own way through this world, and thus is worthy of our respect. Check.

Entreprenurial Daring. See Self Reliance. Double check!

Individualism. The Israpundit post linked above cites friends of Mr. Berg noting that he was slowly, but surely, transitioning from a non-observant Jew to an observant one. Regardless of what you believe about religion in general, or Judaism in particular, that religion sets a high standard when it comes to demands on one's resources, one's integrity, and one's behavior. Demands that are far higher than those required of historical Jacksonians. Mr. Berg had more than enough of what it takes to follow the Jacksonian Code.

Courage. He was an unarmed American Contractor in Iraq, helping to install technology that brings people together and Iraq into the 21st century. 'Nuff said.

It is not necessary for Mr. Berg to understand or state that he was a Jacksonian. After all, most real Jacksonians don't know that they ARE Jacksonians. Hell, I didn't know I was a Jacksonian until this week. Point is, both you, I, and Mr. Berg, were effectively Jacksonians before we KNEW we were Jacksonians. Nevertheless, we are all part of the Jacksonian Compact, sworn to protect and defend ourselves, our families, our Nation, and our fellow code honorers. In my book, Mr. Berg was one of us, and his foul murder was a grievous insult to him, his family, his religion, and to us, his fellow Americans and Jacksonians.

He was powerless to protect himself, perhaps by cowardly regulations imposed in the interest of a foolish PC attitude.

His family is clearly too grief stricken to act.

The military arm of his religion is too far away to be effective, and the politics of the Middle East prevent their intervention anyway.

Thus, the task falls to us, the community of the self-reliant, the individualist, and the brave, to avenge the death of one of our own, and in such a manner as not to leave a single doubt in anyone's mind that touching an American with intent to harm is a sure-fire ticket to hell.

I have not seen the clip of the murder: I truly do not think that my blood pressure could handle the even higher levels of rage that I'm feeling now. My current means and circumstances are too limited to affect anything in that far-away cess-pit, so I must substitute clear thought, inventiveness, and good old American Know-how in place of anger to maximize my effectiveness.

But I have read accounts of the contents of the clip, and one thing stands out painfully clear: Mr. Berg definitely felt alone and abandoned in his tragic final moments. As a Jew in the hands of Islamic fanatics, it is certain he knew what the future held for him. His family has evidence that the US Military forces held him, an AMERICAN CITIZEN, as if he was a terrorist. How much did that betrayal factor into the despair he felt?

The fact is, in his spirit, where it really counts, we and our Government failed him. The limp-wristed responses of American Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and our equally limp expressions of outrage at the lack of an adequate response, not only emboldened Osama Bin Laden into even greater atrocities, but has led to a shameful sapping of our spirits. How much conviction can we, as individuals, possibly muster to courageously glare into the hate-filled eyes of terrorists and say, "Kill me, and there will be hell to pay!", when we know that the damned Jeffersonians and Wilsonians in the State Department, led by Powell, would stab us in the back by sanctimoniously intoning a call for a nuanced response, rather than tracking down and killing 100 terrorists in our name? Hell and damnation, are we going to let an Italian ex-baker outdo us in this area? And it's not as if we don't know where we can find 500 confirmed terrorists on short notice in a target-rich environment to avenge the deaths of the Fajullah contractors and Nick: President Bush should go on TV and announce, "You assholes may believe that Nicholas Berg was a damned Jew. However, he was OUR damned Jew. NOBODY does this sort of crap to our damned Jews! From now on, 100 damned terrorists will be captured or killed for every American civilian killed. Since we're already 500 terrorists in arrears, I order the Air Force to commence bombing the living SHIT out of Hizbollah camps in South Lebanon."

If our President doesn't get off his ass and get going because his core constituency wants it, maybe he should read and ponder THIS:

Berg had traveled several times to Third World countries to help spread technology, his family said. He had previously traveled to Kenya and Ghana, where they said he had purchased a $900 brick-making press for a poor village, the family said.

Berg's mother, Suzanne Berg, said her son was in Iraq to help rebuild communication antennas.

"He had this idea that he could help rebuild the infrastructure," she said.

Michael Berg described himself as fervently anti-war, but said his son disagreed with him.

"He was a Bush supporter," Berg said. "He looked at it as bringing democracy to a country that didn't have it."

Congratu-fuckin-lations, Mr. President. Terrorist activity has just deprived you of one vote in your favor in November. If that doesn't get your ass in gear, then you fuckin' DESERVE TO LOSE this November!

Posted by ptah at May 12, 2004 01:19 PM