Apparently this saying was coined by a journalist in 1845 in an essay claiming that it was the United States right to colonize the continent of North America. This concept had been around before the saying arose, and still continues to manifest itself in modern times.
Of this philosophy William E. Channing wrote in 1837:
"Did this county know itself, or were it disposed to profit by self-knowledge, it would feel the necessity of laying an immediate curb on its passion for extended territory.... We are a restless people, prone to encroachment, impatient of the ordinary laws of progress... We boast of our rapid growth, forgetting that, throughout nature, noble growths are slow..... It is full time that we should lay on ourselves serious, resolute restraint."
Though this was a comment in opposition to the ideas of manifest destiny in the 19th century, they reflect in principle attitudes so common in our world today. Our society believes more then ever in the profit of self-knowledge, and the idea that self governance on an individual basis is a right. Is this the way to a better world? One free of the victims of our lack of self control?
If noble growths are slow, then ignoble ones should be faster. And in a short time we as humans have been able to do much harm to this world because of our selfishness. Many still fail to see the overall folly of our self-knowledge. Forget manifest destiny, we can barely manifest reality.
