Beyond a mere man

I only recently watched Kingdom of Heaven, which you should see if you haven’t. It takes place during the reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the leper king, one of Christendom’s greatest. Even without seeing it, you’ve certainly seen the memes spawned from it:

A single line from the film has stuck with me more than any other: “I am Jerusalem.”

This line occurs twice in the film. First, immediately before King Baldwin punishes a wicked man for his cruelty towards innocents, he proclaims “I am Jerusalem,” establishing his authority. Second, after Baldwin’s death, the new king murders an enemy messenger in his court. Thereafter he whispers to himself “I am Jerusalem,” visibly drunk on power.

We see in the first place a man that truly was Jerusalem, and in the second place a man that desperately wanted to be, but was not.

This idea has captivated me ever since, that a ruler can be more than a man of his nation, he can be the nation itself. I realized that this is how we think about great rulers already. When we see Julius Caesar, we see Rome. When we see Queen Victoria, we see England. When we see Donald Trump, we see America.

The American identity

For a leader to be the embodiment of his nation, the nation must have an identity to begin with. America’s identity is threatened with extinction, but survives for now, and in no one better than in Donald Trump. This isn’t just an endorsement, it’s an analysis of what we need in leadership. Trump’s administration will end in 4 years, and we will have most of our work left to do. We will have to find another man who can say “I am America,” so what is America?

America’s identity cannot be expressed completely in mere words, but I can frame it with them. America is Christian. She is a pioneer of all kinds of discovery. She reveres excellence, and she liberates her people to pursue it. She achieves peace through strength, at home and abroad. She welcomes anyone who would come to her, throwing off their former nations along with their chains, to build anew as her people always have.

You must understand that very few people outside the United States have any interest in this. It’s a uniquely American virtue to become excellent by one’s own sweat, to bravely chart a new course. It is, therefore, impossible for most people to become Americans.

This notion is very contentious at the moment, it will either prevail or be crushed. I tell you now: If we do not adopt this doctrine of American exceptionalism, which discriminates against mediocrity, our nation will continue to decline. We will become as the third-world is to the sound of “This isn’t the nation my grandfather fought for!”, cried out by pathetic men who gave away their precious birthright to anyone who asked.

Join our space tonight!

Tonight at 8:00 PM Central we will discuss this further, particularly as it relates to the election, in a space on X. Click here to get notified when it starts, I look forward to having you on stage and talking about the future of our nation.

As always, the recording will be available on all podcast platforms (search: “The Constantine Option”) by tomorrow morning. If you tune in, please consider leaving a review.

Finally, remember that you can always reply to these emails with your thoughts. I appreciate and read every reply.

God bless you,

The Constantine Option