messianic aspects have certainly affected the country's foreign policy... imagine how many USers would react if another country justified its international actions on the grounds that its citizens were a chosen people selected to implement the will of god on earth...and the most ominous feature of this tendency becomes visible when a moralistic foreign policy is converted into a crusade against a 'godless' enemy - a crude morality play of good versus evil resulting in periods of government repression against people in this country for engaging in 'un-American' (i.e., pro- working class) activities...Michael Hoover