“A More Perfect Union”—eliminating the historic America, eliminating white men

Worth a re-read, if you can take it, is the November 2009 discussion of the multicultural $100 platinum coin on the theme, “A More Perfect Union,” that was issued by the U.S. Mint.

However, as I point out in the entry today on the murder of a Minnesota co-ed by her black boyfriend, the feminist image the “new America” in that 2009 coin, with its glorification of the white woman and its erasure of the white man, as radical as it seemed, was really old-fashioned. We need edgier images more suited for our time.

(UPDATE, July 12: A reader has designed a new commemorative coin with the edgier image I suggested.)

Here are some of my remarks from the 2009 entry:

It’s the absolutely standard iconography of today: nonwhites, white woman, no white man.

A further thing is, the minorities do not look like Americans. The black man looks like an African, not like a black American. The Indian looks like an Indian warrior on the plains; he is no more a citizen of the United States than I am a member of an Indian tribe. And the Chinese woman looks foreign and Chinese, not like a Chinese American. So it’s not just about changing America from white to nonwhite; it’s about erasing America. All that’s left of America is the blond white woman with her aspirational expression, looking upward and outward. What is she looking upward and outward to? To the final disappearance of whites and of America, the true fulfillment, the ultimate consummation.

And there’s something else here that perfectly fits the liberal script. In the liberal script, as I’ve written before, there are three characters: the liberal white, the non-liberal white, and the nonwhite. The liberal white embodies the virtue of liberal society, which is the inclusion of nonwhites. The non-liberal white embodies the evil principle which is opposed to the inclusion of nonwhites, and against which the good principle of inclusion shines. The nonwhite is the object of either liberal inclusiveness or non-liberal bigotry. The nonwhite is not a moral agent. He is the sacred object on whom the liberal white practices the virtue of non-discriminatory inclusion, and in doing so expresses the meaning and purpose of liberal society.

Now look again at the coin. Notice how the three nonwhites’ expressions and eyes are dull, inexpressive, inward looking. The Oriental woman is turned to the side, so we really don’t see her eyes. With the black man, we see his eyes, but they’re sort of staring ahead, not really directed at anything. His expression is a bit stupid. In contrast to the three nonwhites, the white woman’s face is lit up, full of self-awareness, almost ecstatic, her eyes wide and thoughtful, gazing at her distant goal. She is the only purposive being, the only active moral agent in the tableau. And, again, what is her goal, the sight of which lights up her face? The inclusion of nonwhites, and the disappearance of white men, the white race, and America.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 11, 2011 08:15 PM | Send