AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM by T. Edwin Perry
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
When Thomas Paine was writing these words his first “Crisis” pamphlet, Washington’s Army was in retreat across the Delaware River, and they were written to inspire the support of the public, as well as to encourage the morale of the troops. But today, these words can still hold great meaning, because we are truly living in “times that try men’s souls.” Our Progressive Government has embraced the ideas of Social Justice over Equal Justice, targeting successful businesses out of a misguided belief that this somehow creates success for failing businesses. It isn’t about Party, but Politics and Power, and it has nothing to do with the Constitution.
Our Founders believed in American Exceptionalism, though they didn’t have or use that term. It was an understated belief that they, as individuals, could succeed if the Government got out of the way. If you read the Preamble of the Constitution, it clarifies the purposes of the Government: 1) to create a More Perfect Union (in deference to the weak union under the Articles of Confederation); 2) to Establish Justice (implication: EQUAL justice, not Social Justice); 3) PROVIDE for the Common Defense; 4) PROMOTE the General Welfare; and 5) Secure the Blessings of LIBERTY to Ourselves and our Posterity.
Our Founders tended to be very specific when they chose their words, so I don’t think there is any coincidence that they said “PROVIDE” for the Common Defense and “PROMOTE” the General Welfare, which meant, in 1785, Commerce, or Business. Our Founders believed that it IS the responsibility of the Government to protect the Nation, as a WHOLE, from Foreign Threats, and that at the time, even though the Revolution was officially over, the threat from abroad, either by England or France, would continue, and that it was incumbent upon the Nation to defend itself from that threat. They also knew that it IS NOT the responsibility of that Government to make special accommodations to allow one business to succeed, while encouraging another to fail. The rules and regulations promulgated by the Government needed to be EQUAL, they needed to be fair, and they needed to create an environment that would allow the individual and, by extension, their businesses, to either succeed or fail on their own merits. They needed to PROMOTE success by keeping taxes low, imposing only those regulations that protect those opportunities to succeed, and, in all other ways, to get the hell out of the way!
American Exceptionalism is a concept of success, embracing the ideas of the “CAN DO” spirit of our form of Government, and the “WILL DO” courage of the American People. Remember, this Nation was built by people who came to this country in search of OPPORTUNITY. They didn’t need a guarantee of fortune to risk the journey: just the promise that they would have the CHANCE to earn it for themselves. For Conservatives, what makes us truly exceptional is that, succeed or fail, the result is ours, and ours alone.
Progressives tend to impose the idea that Americans should be, somehow, apologetic to the rest of the world for our success. They claim that we, as a Nation, achieved our successes on the backs of the poor, at the cost of the minorities, and by the oppression of the “Third World.” Perhaps it is because most of the Progressive Leaders in Power HAVE, in fact, achieved their wealth in those ways. Maybe they assume the worst in others because they have observed the worst in themselves, but Conservatives know the truth. We know that when the intention of our Founders is followed, the poor have the same opportunity to succeed as the rich, that the minorities have the same freedom to achieve as the “White” majority, and that, in the “Third World,” if they were to INSTALL a Government that protected THEIR rights and take the Personal Responsibility to oversee that Government, they could have these opportunities as well, and that our business investments in these regions could actually HELP them to achieve those goals.
What has always made America EXCEPTIONAL compared to the rest of the World is the fact that we, as a Nation, ARE exceptional as compared to the rest of the World, but as our Progressive Leaders continue to apologize and try to make our Nation more like Europe, like we were under the original Articles of Confederation before the Constitution, we are losing that Exceptionalism. And with that loss, we also lose our Established Justice, our Provided Defense, and our Promoted General Welfare, guaranteeing that the Blessings of Liberty will be lost for Ourselves and Our Posterity!
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