Manifest Destiny

Name:____________________

Section:____
Notes about Manifest Destiny:

Personal Pondering
From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is
used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great on
fillers, as if what we have, what we are, is not enough. We have a cultural
tendency toward denial, but, being affluent, we strangle ourselves with
what we can buy. We have only to look at the house we build to see how
we build against space, the way we drink against pain and loneliness. We
will up space as if it were a pie shell, with things whose opacity further
obstructs our ability to see what is already there.
The Solace of Open Space Gretel Ehrlich (1981)
In many ways, the notion of Manifest Destiny continues to be a dominant American
belief. Where does Manifest Destiny apply in your life and in America? Write a
couple paragraphs reflecting on these questions.