American Exceptionalism and a Can Do Attitude
Robert R. Owens, Ph.D.
Researching the national political scene could become depressing in an era when Progressives dedicated to fundamentally transforming America hold almost total control of the media and the government, especially when they’re working hard to turn a recession into a depression. However, the Obama drama is like watching a slow-motion train wreck: if not inspiring, at least it’s entertaining. Daily we’re assaulted by a Washington elite dedicated to proving Saturday Night Live never went far enough into satire to capture the nonsensical folly of our elected leaders.
Hourly, our intelligence is insulted by people telling us they want to spend more money to lower the deficit and balance the budget as the deficit climbs higher and faster than ever before, and the national debt careens past satire into the theater of the absurd. Minute by minute, we’re assaulted by news such as the self admitted communist who was purged from the White House in the middle of the night is now an American Treasure. Or that the President’s long time pastor and mentor Rev. Wright recently honored Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, with the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer award. Is that the last trumpet I hear?
Suffice it to say the national scene in America today appears determined to prove one of Mark Twain’s less repeated quotes, “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
Watching our leaders act as if Dilbert comic strips are their leadership manual, it’s hard not to keep at least one eye out for Curley, Larry and Moe to dance in hitting each other with rubber hammers and spraying seltzer all over the place. Oh wait a minute: that’s Pelosi, Reid and Rohm Emmanuel. If it wasn’t so tragic, it’d be laughable to think these Chicago ward healers and their Progressive front men really believed they’d get away with hijacking a nation like it was a semi filled with flat screen TVs.
Concentrating on this every day could become depressing, but I realized long ago not to take it too seriously; it all perishes with the using and it’s the things that won’t that are important. Besides, I look to my local government for a more realistic notion of how America is doing. The leaders I see are actually struggling to come to grips with the dire economic times we face. They aren’t charging it to the kids, taxing the citizens into poverty or begging for handouts from bloated state and federal governments. They’re making the hard, unpopular choices, cutting this and limiting that in order to maintain a balanced budget. Yes it’s hard work. Yes, it’s likely to lead to some of them not being re-elected. And yes, it’s what they volunteered for and what we chose them for.
In some areas this picture won’t match reality. In some places such as California, Illinois, Harrisburg PA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Los Angeles the Progressives who’ve controlled these places for generations desperately try to find new ways to plunder their citizens as they contemplate bankruptcy. However, no matter how the remaining proponents of ever expanding entitlements and pork barrel budgets try to prop up their house of cards there are daily more citizens who get it. Not one to profusely quote President Clinton, I’m happy to recommend that we all repeat together, “The era of big government is over.” Our elected officials need to get it instead of following the lemmings over the cliff.
Yes this could get depressing but I believe in American Exceptionalism and a can do attitude. I believe that our history and our future have been and will be defined by our devotion to limited government and the liberty and opportunity this provides.
Throughout our history, when the days looked the darkest, Americans braved the icy Delaware to surprise the overconfident mercenaries. We surrounded the largest army of the greatest empire on earth at Yorktown and birthed freedom from oppression.
After the professional soldiers of the former masters came in like a flood chasing the representatives of the people and burned our new capital, we met them again on the way to New Orleans and handed them the greatest defeat their arms had ever suffered.
When the dispute over slavery finally ruptured the wound which had festered since independence and other nations thought we would devour ourselves in a nightmare of blood and steel, we rose from the ashes, re-united and became the greatest industrial power the world has ever known.
When the Nazi and Fascists of the twentieth century thought they would rule for a thousand years, America led the rest of the world in defeating them.
When the Soviets and other Communists sought to crush freedom under their collective heel, the United States held high the beacon of freedom.
Yes, no matter how out of fashion it may be with the media or the liberal establishment, I believe in America Exceptionalism and the can do attitude of the American people. No matter how hard our progressive leaders try to grow our traditionally limited government into a cradle-to-grave welfare state, I do not believe they’ll succeed in suffocating the light of liberty which burns bright in the breast of America.
And since I’m quoting presidents today, I want to end with President Ronald Reagan who told us, “A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.”
Dr. Robert R. Owens teaches history, political science, religion, and leadership for Southside Virginia Community College. Dr. Owens is the author of “America Won the Vietnam War” and “The Asuza Street Revival.” He is available for speaking engagements.
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While I understand that the author is saying America's place in the world is do to our history “of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality and above all responsible liberty for every individual” , I also am concerned that perceiving oneself or referring to oneself as 'exceptionalistic' (in any sense of the word), is the first step in the wrong direction.
The ancient Romans, Nazi's, Imperial England, Japan also felt the same at one time.
Our goal should be to pour every ounce of our being into the principles of self-reliance, morality, self-discipline, responsible liberty,and limited government. Like our Democracy, American Exceptionalism will be a result of our continuing efforts.It may not however. We are still on the journey. in the starting blocks.
Let the Tocqueville's of the world, talk about our exceptionalism. For us to do it is meaningless.Self perception is rarely objective or true. We need to get back to work and not concern ourselves with platitudes. I always have belived ” The Thing Speaks For Itself ”
The farmer who spends all day chopping and stacking wood for the winter doesn't have to proclaim outloud or to others, that is was his hard work and self-reliance that produced the stack.It speaks for itself
We do not talk of exceptionalism as an exercise in self-congratulation. Rather, we do so as a reminder of what our values are, and to examine the evidence that those values produce exceptional results.
When we lose sight of what makes a nation great, we lose momentum and motivation to continue upholding the values that create greatness. Just as a person who has no vision of the positive outcomes of physical fitness will soon lose motivation to be physically fit, so will a nation. Just as a Christian who has no vision of what their daily discipline (prayer, Bible reading, meditation on the Scriptures, living out the fruits of God's Spirit, etc.) will produce in their spiritual growth…soon loses motivation to continue those disciplines, so will a nation.
Again for emphasis, recognizing American exceptionalism is not an exercise in vanity but a reminder not to abandon the values that produced that exceptionalism.
I don't think you or the author talk of exceptionalism as an exercise in self-congratulation at all. What concerns me is the danger of that happening to those who don't understand or confuse the concept and carry it too far.History is replete of such examples and thanks to media, we see do people extolling our virtues in a self- congrtaulatory way.
False pride, uber- Nationalism etc.are not far behind. My concern is that since man is fallible and prone to faulty reasoning, that Americans might lose sight or confuse what got us here and instead spend even one second on self-congratulatory, false pride and arrogance
With all the national self-flagellation from the Left, I don't think we're in any danger of that. And if those of us who understand these concepts and attempt to promote them to the public continue to do our “jobs” right, all but the most daft will get it (and you're always going to have at least a few daft ones in any society).