America's Exceptionalism

I have long noticed a phenomenon, particularly amongst our brothers and sisters on the left side of the political spectrum, to bash our country endlessly.  This has ever been the case in recent generations, but it seems to have hit a crescendo during the times that Republicans hold office. Now, that we have an uber-leftist as President, I had expected this nonsense to recede in waiting until 2012 when a conservative was elected back to the office. Evidently I was mistaken, as the Obama administration routinely is the biggest culprit of running down America these days.

Despite all of the hyper-socialist transformational tendencies of President Obama, this is definitely something to which I, and I suspect a majority of Americans, take strong exception. President Obama, his sycophantic mouth-pieces in the media, and his diminishing ranks of followers seem to be almost gleeful in pointing out the errors, evils, and shortcomings of our greatest of all nations. (even if they have to make it up as they go sometimes.)

Now granted, America has not been perfect as a nation, not that any nation ever has; however, typically America eventually admits its sins and does what is necessary to make things right.

For instance, many of our founders were troubled over the issue of slavery, but in order to form our nation they set the issue aside at the time. Eventually in 1861, that issue came to the forefront and one of our bloodiest wars ever was fought to end the evil practice of slavery via the Civil War. We nearly tore this nation apart in blood to atone for that sin.

Other parts of our history of which most decent Americans are understandably ashamed happened such as the displacement and overall treatment of American Indians as we swept westward as a country in fulfillment of our manifest destiny.

We have not always done the right thing as a country, but we are very good at eventually making amends for those seldom affronts.

More importantly, America has always been a beacon for good. For Liberty. For the opportunity to strive to reach one’s dreams.

Millions and millions of immigrants have journeyed to our shores over our 234 year history in order to find a better life; to find a life they could not have in their old country. And many of those immigrants embraced America and improved their lives and those of their posterity. Indeed, if the borders were open to the world’s population to become a member of any nation of their choosing, how many of the world’s six billion people would rush to call themselves Americans today?

In America’s relatively short existence on this earth as a nation, just look at what we have accomplished. It is my belief that our divinely-inspired Founding Fathers put in place a nearly unprecedented form of government where We The People were to govern ourselves through representatives of our own choosing. Our natural rights, derived from our Creator, were protected in a strong and also previously unprecedented Constitution that has become the very model for many free nations’ own constitutions since then.

Our prosperity through a free market system where hard work, perseverance, and risk are often rewarded has been unparalleled. Because of this, we have been the breadbasket of the world, the leaders of commerce, the greatest of inventors and innovators, and a friend to all that would be our friend. From the discovery of flight to reaching the furthest parts of space thus far, America has lead the way. Ingenuity is rewarded in this nation. All of these things are possible because of the gift of liberty from God as established in America by our founders.

Even our poorest people are wealthier than those from nearly anywhere else in the world. Our poor typically have a home, a television, perhaps even a car, where the poorest of some nations are lucky to have food to subsist upon. Our poor typically are more likely to suffer from obesity.

We have a military that is unmatched in human history in its might, and despite such strength, we do not use it for creating an empire of lesser nations. We have used our military strength in rescuing those allies that were unable to fend for themselves in war such as France and Britain in WWII, and in the liberation of nations from evil tyrants. We have used our might to help protect our friends in Europe under the umbrella of our strength during the darkest days of the Cold War. We have not asked for riches or land in return for this. We have paid in our blood and treasure to protect our allies. Our friends have unfettered access to the world’s seas and airspace in large part due to the protection of those sea lanes and air space by the United States military.

Despite all of these things, I still hear from those that decry our excesses. They state how we consume 25% of the world's energy, and yet they fail to realize that this is rewarded in unmatched productivity in farming, manufacturing, and services that benefits that same world far more than the output of any other nation’s.

A week ago, President Obama’s top science and technology official, who has argued for the economic de-development of America, warned science students that the United States cannot expect to be “number one” forever. “We can’t expect to be number one in everything indefinitely,” Dr. John P. Holdren said at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Why can we not expect this, sir? We have achieved more than any other nation on earth despite being younger than most nations on earth. It is because we do not accept failure and do not feel ashamed at being the last remaining superpower that we can continue to be that “shining city on a hill” to which President Reagan referred.

To run down our country and defer to lesser nations rather than lead the way in the cause of liberty and freedom is unacceptable. Accepting the soft bigotry of low expectations will only weaken us as a country. That is not what our founders envisioned, not what millions of Americans fought for, and not what we have together spent in blood, treasure, and our sacred honor to protect and defend.