America Exceptional
by James McAlister
Issue 128 - March 25, 2009

Following the doom and gloom out of Washington in the past weeks, some thoughts on the founding of our nation.

Few of us are aware of what went into the original 13 states even agreeing on putting their signatures to the original Declaration of Independence. It was initially hoped that some date a little more significant than July 4 would be chosen but rancor between different states’ interests led the representatives to parse every clause and even quibble over various words that Thomas Jefferson had chosen in the initial draft. These were men of considerable property and means and they were risking everything by declaring open rebellion against the British crown. Once the Declaration was signed and delivered, there was no going back. With that risk in mind, as well as possible perils to follow, they wanted to be absolutely certain about what they were endorsing.

Once committed, the leaders we most remember had a ‘go for broke’ attitude because there really was no turning back without terrible loss. Today, we remember those such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox, James Madison, and John Adams. Of course, we can’t forget John Hancock who notably signed his name in large script to be sure that near-sighted King George III would be able to read it. These were exceptional Americans.

Many others held leadership roles at the time, some of them reluctantly or fearfully. They have mostly been confined to being footnotes in our history.

In the following 233 years, our history has been peppered with great leaders with exceptional foresight. As president, Thomas Jefferson used a little sleight of hand to force Congress into ratifying the Louisiana Purchase – one of the great real estate deals of all time. John Quincy Adams was so devoted to public service, he served as a Congressman following his presidency and died at his desk in the chamber.

James Polk, one of our most effective and least-known presidents who used a little arm-twisting to prosecute the Mexican-American War, left office at the height of his popularity, fulfilling his promise to serve only a single term.

Robert E. Lee was one of America’s greatest military leaders. He defended his state and new country after the South seceded and was invaded. Arlington Cemetery was deliberately created on his favorite property during that war. When it finally ended, Lee was a very vocal advocate of once again embracing the victorious US and calling on all Americans to reunite.

Theodore Roosevelt was a loud diminutive man with a number of physical infirmities who long practiced and preached that we should all aspire to be the best we can be.

The newsreader, Tom Brokaw, has described the generation of young Americans who went to war in 1941 as America’s ‘Greatest Generation.’ No, their parents were for it was they who raised that generation of Americans and they were the last generation of ‘will-do can-do on my own’ Americans.

In the 1930s, an insidious notion that we’re not so special after all began to develop, nurtured by an overreaching government dominated by an elite that deliberately extended the economic depression in order to consolidate power and create a permanent class of Americans who believed that the final answer to any problems was the federal government and not within themselves.

George Patton, the great WWII commander, once declared, “America hates losers.” Today’s losers are most apt to say the opposite and many cheerfully celebrate their loser status as though it was some sort of achievement.

When Emma Lazarus wrote her weepy poem that’s reproduced at the Statue of Liberty, it’s doubtful anyone had in mind that the ‘huddled masses’ were coming here to reap generous government benefits while flaunting our laws and remaining huddled. Thankfully, most of the immigrants from that era were nothing like the detritus she described but were industrious individuals looking for an opportunity to work hard and succeed.

For generations, America has been known as the Great Melting Pot. The elitists among our leadership today cringe at that term. “What about diversity?” they cry.

What’s forgotten is American Exceptionalism. Earlier waves of immigrants were inspired by the image that America had. We were the land of unlimited opportunities for anyone willing to work hard and take advantage of what we offered. It was a simple formula. You enter legally, find a job or (in earlier days) claim some land, learn the language, and become an American. It didn’t mean losing one’s identity, it meant gaining one. In most of the old countries, they had simply been subjects, peasants, or (worse) cannon fodder. In America, you were a somebody.

We must disabuse ourselves of this notion that we’re a nation of immigrants. It denigrates what Americans have established here. If you go back far enough in anyone’s family tree anywhere in the world, you’ll find they came from elsewhere. We’re a nation conceived in the minds of some very intelligent men who left the door open to others who wanted to share their vision.

Today’s overeducated elites are doing their best to tell us we’re nothing special and have to make sacrifices for the sake of ‘the planet’ or some benighted pseudo-civilization halfway around the world. We’re told we’re fat, lazy, and greedy. Many people are too eager to accept this and actually think we ought to be penalized for having built the greatest and wealthiest civilization the world has ever seen.

Americans are the best workers in the world. All indexes show that American workers have increased their productivity by 12% to 14% per year for decades. We also take less than half the vacation time than any other industrialized nation. We’re a wealthy country because we earned it. No one’s given us anything and we haven’t plundered it from elsewhere. Exceptional endeavor.

American armed forces are the greatest and most sophisticated in the world. Their training is so superb, we’re able to put 23 year olds in charge of $75-million tanks and trust 25 year olds with $125-million fighter planes. And they’re all volunteers. Exceptional dedication.

Americans are the most charitable people in the world. The federal government’s foreign aid budget is dwarfed by private contributions by average Americans. That’s in addition to what we give to help the less fortunate here at home. Exceptional generosity.

Americans hold over half the patents ever registered. This isn’t some quirk. It was the result of a society that encouraged ingenuity. Exceptional inventiveness.

The elites say we must apologize to everyone for our bounty and power, and punish ourselves with more confiscatory taxes. Incredible stupidity and not something we want to pass on future generations.

It is this kind of American Exceptionalism that has allowed us to achieve our prosperity and security – two things that were not assured by any means 232 years ago when elitists smugly insisted that we compromise to European standards. The patriotic American exceptionalists were certain that we had already forged a distinct identity that would lead to success.

Today and everyday, we should reject the failed formula for disaster, despair, and defeat of Europeans or anyone else, including the self-appointed elite in our midst. Americans traditionally look to the future with unbounded enthusiasm while others wallow in self-pity, self-loathing, and a sense that things can only get worse.

American Exceptionalism will carry us into the future and I’m damn proud to be part of it.

James C. McAlister