Manifest Destiny

newspaper report of annexation of Hawaii in 1898

Manifest Destiny comprises the notion not only of eternal expansion, as we see in the eyes of the current ruler (once president) of the country,  but also of ultimate possibility. In this sense the current incarnation of the concept is a form of romanticism not entirely shy of fascism. the ultimate instantiation of this feeling is the simple Jimmy Cliff lyric "you can make it if you really try." Really? At one point every door must close. Kafka's "Before the Law" is a wonderful embodiment of the reality which underlies all endeavor, and also the delusion of breadth within the relatively narrow window one terms "life."