I heard someone remark this week that Barack Obama did not share the values of the United States because he didn’t grow up here. While initially that sounded plausible, the more I thought about it, the more I disagreed with it. The truth of the matter is that growing up in the United States is no guarantee of sharing values with America. A few examples might be Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Michael Moore, the late Howard Zinn and many others.
The thing that President Obama and so many on the left do not understand is that the United States is indeed a unique animal. Not only is it a country, but it’s also an idea. People around the world don’t just dream of coming to America, they dream of becoming Americans. Many have and continue to risk their lives to do so. It’s one thing to risk your life escaping the Soviet Union, Communist China or even Communist Cuba. Those people were or are running from something, trying to go anywhere else. It’s another thing altogether to risk one’s life to come to a place… And that place is more often than not, America.
America is somewhat unique in the history of mankind – or at least in the last 2,000 years. People may dream of moving to Paris for the romance and the food, but they don’t dream of becoming a Frenchman. Many Hong Kong Chinese moved to Canada before the Communists took over, but they weren’t expecting to become Canadian. Someone might move to Singapore for its economic opportunities, but they don’t expect to become Singaporean. Throughout history one has examples of people choosing to move to a different locale to take advantage of economic opportunities or various freedoms. The British Empire offered certain advantages but few Indians or South Africans or Egyptians expected to move to Britain and become British. While they may have been British subjects, they were not actually British. One almost has to go back to the Roman Empire to find something similar to the idea of America. There, outsiders not only dreamed of living in Rome, they also dreamed of becoming Roman… and could do so. The idea of becoming a Roman citizen actually meant something beyond just living in the Empire or being subject to its laws.
Barack Obama misunderstands what it means to be an American. When he says that America is just one amongst equals on the world stage, he misses the point. Most Americans feel like America is indeed a better country than the rest of the world. That doesn’t mean that Americans believe they are genetically superior to anyone else or that we are by definition smarter than anyone else. It doesn’t even mean that the United States is infallible – a point President Obama is more than happy to point out. Rather, it is a recognition of the unique combination of freedom and opportunity that makes the country great. The United States may be filled with mortal men, but the expectation for 200 plus years is that those mortal men can achieve the impossible… that anything is possible. That sense of can do spirit, of American Exceptionalism has a long history going back to the pilgrims who carved out a place to call home and the rag tagged army that defeated the most powerful empire in the world. There is so much more with explorers, inventors and innovators. From McCormick feeding the world to Edison lighting it to Rockefeller revolutionizing energy and medicine. There’s also flight, winning two world wars, putting a man on the moon and the micro processor. There are even more mundane things like vulcanized rubber, the elevator, air conditioning and the Slinky.
Where Barack Obama and much of the left make their mistake is that they think the United States is synonymous with Uncle Sam… the federal government. They think America began to be great when the progressive agenda began to fall into place. They think of America as a place where the government makes people equal, where the government provides or guarantees everyone healthcare, welfare, education and income. America is great because the government protects the little guy against the modern robber barons. In essence, America is great because Uncle Sam is there to look out for everyone. In their zero sum game universe the government is there to adjust the down markers and move the goal posts so that everyone gets their “fair share”.
Barack Obama and the left are simply wrong. There’s an old saying about someone being born on third and imagining they hit a triple. They have the luxury of imagining the government is what makes America great precisely because for so long the government largely heeded the Constitution’s bounds and America prospered. It is only because the private sector was so successful, it is only because so many entrepreneurs risked everything, it is only because so many millions of Americans worked hard and created so much national wealth and prosperity could the progressives find an opportunity to think up things for the government to do. From Teddy Roosevelt attacking the robber barons to FDR paying farmers to kill pigs and let fields go fallow to Barack Obama pouring a trillion dollars in stimulus money down a rat hole, it is only the success and wealth created by the American people that made such folly possible.
One does not need to have grown up in America in order to appreciate what America is. (Read Paul Johnson’s History of the American People and you’ll see it on perfect display.) Anyone can look at a map and find the United States nestled between two oceans. It’s another thing altogether to know what the country is about, what its people are about, what the source of its greatness is and what makes it unique. Barack Obama and the Democrats can probably find the country on a map. Unfortunately it’s the other things, the more important things that they can’t see. That’s too bad for them, and as long as they making the rules, too bad for all of us.
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Applause 😛
This is a very well written article. Too bad it’s 100% true.
You have given ‘birth’ to, and argument for, a rational proposition! ‘Kan yah’ make that point ‘Orly’, as well … ?
Snerd
Vince,
“People around the world don’t just dream of coming to America, they dream of becoming Americans. . . . . Many Hong Kong Chinese moved to Canada before the Communists took over, but they weren’t expecting to become Canadian. Someone might move to Singapore for its economic opportunities, but they don’t expect to become Singaporean.”
You have nailed it here. The perfect contrast in North America to America’s unique position in the world, is Canada. The past 20 years have found that a large percentage of Canada’s immigrant population has not entered the country to become Canadian, which is why so many have left ALL their capital off-shore (Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Cyprus, etc). They landed in Canada to enable their extended families to take advantage of the Canadian safety net (social security & medicare available for the asking) – a safety net rapidly eroding and cracking at the seams. Too many landed with no intention of becoming Canadians.
In contrast, it’s safe to say that even illegal aliens in America want to become Americans.
In Canada, if you ask anyone who has immigrated in the past 20 years, who he or she would support in the event of an armed conflict between Canada and they native country, there’s probably an 80% chance that they would support “home,” – where they were born.
Ask that of American immigrants, and you’ll find a very different answer from the vast majority.
This is also why the talk from pundits and self-serving experts calling this, “China’s Century,” are ignoring the human spirit and human tendencies.
Most of the people who come to the USA are not running FROM something, they are running TO something. When a person runs FROM something they don’t care where they go as long as they get away from what they are running from. People who come here come for a reason: Freedom.
Cal Thomas…Still Thankful
http://townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2010/11/25/still_thankful
One more blessing to be truly Thankful for. Term Limits on Presidents! 😉
My sociology class was asked to make a presentation about what we think America is, and you eloquently captured exactly how I feel. I think this is a fantastic outlook. Thanks so much for sharing your opinion.
@Natalie: Hi Natalie. Thank you for your kind words. If you liked that post here are two more you might like:
http://www.imperfectamerica.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-christmas-reindeer-antlers-say.html
http://www.imperfectamerica.blogspot.com/2009/11/gift-of-freedom.html
Good luck with your class!
Uhm… you are very confused. First of all, America is NOT country! The end.
(above comment to Anony, asking what his critisism is exactly)
I believe this article was truly well written. It is a shame that currently in America a certain degree of patriotism has fallen by the waist side. How can we hope to embellish this great country if we have no respect for its greatness?
America is a continent, not a country.
The United States is NOT the same as America.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/América
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas
America is a Continent not a country, if youre talking about the United States you are correct.
USA is AMERICA, WITH THE REST OF COUNTRIES SHE IS HEPLING CONSTANTLY,
ON HER DOMAIN,
SHE IS THE ONE SPILLING BLOOD AND LIMBS TO PROTECT HERSELF AND OTHER,
I’m American and after reading this article. IV stoped to think and open my eyes much more. I’m very depressed and thanks to whom ever wrote and configured this page.IV stopped from making a horrible decision tonight. Thank you
@joey: Hang in there Joey–tomorrow’s gonna be a great day for you.
This is a great article!
@Common Sense: Hi this is not true, lots of people moving to Britain and Canada wish to be Canadians or British. I think the author, and many Americans, myself included before I lived abroad, do not understand immigration has been happening in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the EU in the 20th century. These immigration patterns often mirror those of immigrants to the US in the 19th and 20th century. they come for a better life and an idea of democratic society.
It was good to relive Old Trooper and Bees
my name is ali omer i need to go africa baout to eat fuck you guys
Jim Meyer
11/12/2016
“Make America Great Again.”
“Make America Great Again.” When was America Great?
1. When the white Europeans arrive in the early 15th and 16th centuries waving their Bibles while forcing conversion of the Native American population with the muzzle?
2. Perhaps, America was Great when we committed genocide on the Native Americas?
3. Could have been in 1619 when we started having black slaves grace the Great American continent.
4. Was America Great when over 6-700,000 were killed during the Civil War?
5. How about Mexico when we took stole by war, 1848: California, Texas, New Mexico Nevada etc. simply because we could. That was not just Greatness that was magnificence.
Come on now, tell me when was America Great?
6. Was it when we colonized Cuba and the Philippines sending thousands to heavenly glory.
7. Was America Great when we killed millions by bombs, guns and napalm in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola and Thailand?
8. Perhaps America was Great when we supported the overthrow of Indonesia in 1965 and the genocide of East Timor a few years later up till 1999.
9. America must have been Great when we overthrew the Chilean government on their 9/11 on 9/11/1973 killing Allende and setting up Pinochet and supporting him while he killed thousands.
10. Oh, yea, America must have been Great when we invaded Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Brazil.
11. Must not forget when we invaded Panama immediately after the Berlin Wall fell 1989.
12. What about Hawaii and Puerto Rico when we annexed them, surely that was Great.
This Greatness is getting intoxicating.
13. Yes, America was Great when we invaded Somalia in 2006 under the false pretext of ‘Humanitarian aid’, but it was really to protect the oil with BP off the Horn.
Humanitarian Aid works well to make America Great again.
14. Who can forget how Great America was when we invaded Afghanistan in 2001-2 and bombing innocent people because they would not overthrow their government or hand over a suspected war criminal without any evidence. Starving thousands of Afghans in a cold winter, cutting off their food supply; now that was when we were really Great.
15. Can’t forget The Gulf War and Iraq. We were really Great when we invaded and occupied and place devastating sanctions on the people, killing hundreds of thousands of children and they are still dying today. Surely that was an exercise in American Greatness. Certainly, Cheney felt that way. Madeline Albright said; ‘it was worth it’, you bet, killing over 500,000 children was worth displaying our Greatness.
16. We must not forget how Great we were when we assisted Israel in invading Lebanon on five different occasion trying to get the PLO to react, but they refused.
17. And Gaza, how magnificent we were in helping Israel with funds and arms, munitions when they started to run out after murdering hundreds in the Strip the size of two Washington D.C.s with a population of over 1.7 million people. Wow, that was like shooting animals in cage. Our Greatness must have been awe-inspiring.
18. Surely, we must include the invasion of Haiti in 1994 killing thousands.
19. Our might really showed up in 1983. We actual went against and invaded Grenada with the full force of our military. They really saw our Greatness.
20. Who would ever forget the invasion of the mighty Solomon Islands. What Greatness that was.
21. Now please don’t forget when we invaded China. You don’t remember? Shame. 1900 lest we not forget our Greatness.
22. Oh, I am so sorry, I forgot the Seminole war in Florida, we really got those Native Americans.
23. I digress. Can’t forget the Korean war. Oh, my goodness that war is still in effect. Did our Greatness start to fade here, no, of course not?
24. We had just dropped two atom bombs on Japan five years earlier after they were willing to surrender and we also firebombed their cities killing over 100,000 in a night.
25. I just refuse to forget Bill Clinton’s bombing a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan in 1998 and saying it was an accident. You bettcha.
26. Obama’s drone warfare; about as immoral or unethical as you can get. Remember the Magna Carta of 1215 and due process.
27. What though about the Bay of Pigs Invasion? Was that Greatness? I am not sure. We got our tails handed to us there.
28. Libya, yes that was absolutely Great. Hillary wanted to coronate her election early by being a hawk. “We came, we saw, he died”
29. Certainly, our Greatness has shown by being in support of human rights violations. We have endorsed, financially and militarily, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Pakistan.
30. Overall, the United States more than likely has been responsible for, directly or indirectly, the deaths of 20 to 30 million people in wars and conflicts in over 35 countries just since WWII. That’s not simply Greatness in a show of power, but splendor. Proud USA, absolutely. So many deaths. I think the number is higher though, I can’t prove it, but we usually don’t keep track of deaths and other atrocities that we commit only what others commit.
We can control the media and get all the favorable op-eds possible.
31. We even looked the other way knowing that Pakistan was building a nuclear bomb arsenal.
Make America Great again, absolutely that’s who we are and what we do. We love to bomb black and brown people. We can’t make a TV or VCR that you can record or a microwave you can set, but bombing, you bet.
32. Who else do we bomb? White people? No. Just black or brown people. Wait a minute, I forgot, we did bomb white Europeans. We bombed Germany. Now, why would we do that? Well, it’s obvious, they were trying to cut into our action as a super power, To hell with that. We’ll bomb you to oblivion if you try to cut into our Greatness excellence.
Well enough said. Make America Great Again.
33. Yes, lets help the needless to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Let’s support Paul Ryan’s and Ann Rand’s neo-liberal policies. Care only for self and no one else. We can do it. We have done it in the past and there is no reason we can’t make America Great again by doing it once more.
34. Who cares, the international community of nations regards us as the most dangerous threat to world peace. What do they know, are they Great like America, Absolutely, NO.
35. Who cares that we carry out wholesale terrorism and sponsor other nation-states to carry out terrorism. What do they know.
36. We, the government and particularly the Bushes even provide sanctuary for terrorists. Luis Posada Carriles, Camilo Padreda, Orlando Bosch Jose Dionisio Suarez and Virgilio Paz Romero all terrorist living or have died in good standing with the United States government, oh how Great we are. How much Greatness could we have. Yes, this is what America stands for.
37. Black, Latino/s life are locked in Federal and state prisons, local and county jails, probation, monitored etc. White Anglo/Saxons enjoy must better life. This is really American Greatness.
38. No civil or voting rights till 1964-65. Was that Great?
39. No black and white marriage until 60s-70s. Wow, talk about justice for all, we are really Great.
40. Women’s rights and LBBT rights still working on in the 21st century. God, are we something.
41. No Universal HealthCare or Free college education. Who does Canada and Europe think they are?
42. American inequality, divisiveness, racism, sexism, hate groups, white supremacy are all qualities of the Greatness of America.
We are going to Make America Great; there must be a certain delusional pathology marinating here. But no worry the politicians will work it out.
43. The homeless, poor, hungry, disenfranchised, forgotten will stay as they are, homeless, poor, hungry, disenfranchised, forgotten while capitalism and neo-liberalism will make America Great.
44. Oh, I almost forgot; guns. Yes, guns. We are so Great that we have almost twice as many guns per 100 than Yemen, a failed state. And gun deaths? Well, we have about 10 per 100,000 as compared to Finland with 3.6 and England with 0.2. Now tell me if that is not Greatness?
We’re on the top of the heap with Greatness. So many deaths domestically and foreign that we are responsible for, how could we be anything but Great.
45. What about refugees; are we not Great there also. We take in about .08 refugees per 1,000 which is about 28,000 and that’s Great isn’t it? Lebanon takes in 210 refugees per 1,000 and that a total of 1,300,000. Oh, that’s not so Great. Yea, that’s true but Israel and many in the United States think Lebanon is a little backwards. Why care for so many? They didn’t create the refugee crisis. Well, who did then? US foreign Policy.
46. What! Stop, Stop, Stop. Please, let’s move on and not be so negative. You batcha. Really. No kidding. Seriously, let’s move on.
47. With Greatest Regards, Jimmy