Understanding O’Sullivan’s political theology helps explain elements of American political speech and behavior in the twenty-first century, especially in the international arena. Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines. His vision of America as specially obligated and authorized to intervene in the affairs of other nations remains influential on American political speech and self-understanding today. A teen accused of white supremacy is also thought to have spray-painted the words 'Deus Vult,' a medieval phrase, on a Planned Parenthood building. O’Sullivan’s millenarian thought identifies democracy with American power, framing politics as a conflict between democratic good and despotic evil. This essay analyzes his political writing, which characterizes America as a sinless agent of God’s will, possessing a messianic destiny to initiate a global democratic transfiguration and redeem the world from tyranny.
O’Sullivan, editor of the United States Democratic Review and the christener of Manifest Destiny. That trope partly stems from the political thought of John L. Within the rhetorical tradition of American civil religion, the United States is often depicted as divinely obligated to spread and defend democratic government throughout the world.
