We hear this term, "American exceptionalism", quite frequently these days. America is exceptional or at least was exceptional, and we need to get that back.
What bothers me about this term and the way it is often used is the confusion that seems to swirl around it.
What do we mean when we say that America is exceptional? Does it mean that America is exceptionally moral, exceptionally generous, exceptionally gracious, etc.?
If that is what we mean, that sounds like a very self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. And it seems very strange. After all, we are a nation made up of people from almost every country of the world. Do we honestly believe that only the exceptionally good people immigrated to this country? Hardly!
Does this term mean that we are exceptionally rich in resources, natural and human? I doubt it. The USSR, when it existed with its huge land mass, had and Russia today has, huge natural and human resources. Africa has huge resources as does the Middle East. Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution had tremendous resources, human, natural, military. The Roman Empire had tremendous resources. The list could seemingly go on forever.
So is America exceptional or is this just a myth that we like to create about ourselves?
I don't think this is just a myth that we have created for ourselves. Otherwise, why are so many people trying to get in? And why are people so reluctant to leave once they get here? Others seem to consider the USA exceptional even if they think we are exceptionally evil, the "great Satan".
So what is it that makes the USA exceptional? I believe it is our Declaration and Constitution and the form of government given to us by these documents created by our forefathers. And if we ignore these foundations, I believe we are headed for trouble. I hope to write more about this later.
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