In Defense of American Exceptionalism

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/03/03/in-defense-of-american-excepti

There is no denying it: America is the greatest country in the world. We are blessed with unparalleled freedoms and boundless prosperity that for generations have inspired an innovative and industrious people. America is exceptional.

American Exceptionalism is the standard that our laws reflect the understanding that we are afforded certain God-given rights that can never be taken away. We know that God, not government, bestows upon us these inalienable rights, and because of that, they must not be compromised by the whims of man. This makes us a unique nation, a nation that remains, as President Ronald Reagan once said, "a model and hope to the world."

Unfortunately, some politicians have either forgotten or chosen to ignore the glory of our founding. In April 2009, President Obama told a reporter in Strasbourg, France: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." In saying this, the president implied that American Exceptionalism is nothing terribly special and instead simply chalked it up to the romanticism of patriotism.

Americans know better. We see American Exceptionalism not as an empty cry for nationalism, but instead, the blessings of God that keep our nation strong, independent, and free. We see the American story as one of tenacity and triumph, not as one inherently flawed and in need of rewriting. We recognize the times we have stumbled but are assured that it is not due to weakness of our foundation, but instead, the imperfection of mankind.

Most importantly, conservatives see America as exceptional because of our shared belief in the dignity and creativity of the individual. We know that it is innately human to work, to risk, and to dream. We understand that these virtues, coupled with the conditions American Exceptionalism provides, allow us to enjoy the economic and social mobility that other countries envy. Liberals lament that such success wasn't guaranteed.

At its very core, progressivism rejects American Exceptionalism. Progressives view the Constitution as a roadblock, as they seek an unlimited federal government with more authority than the states and more power than the people. Because they strive for a limitless federal government, they are willing to sacrifice the rugged individualism that has made this nation exceptional in exchange for the collective salvation they believe a vast government provides. And the darling of the progressive movement is, of course, President Obama.

 "Let me be clear," President Obama: America is the greatest nation on Earth. We are not just any other nation, and we are certainly not analogous to our friends in Europe and elsewhere. Our exceptionalism is forever ingrained in our founding documents that spell out exactly the roles of the federal government in relation to individual rights and states' rights.

Truth is eternal, and simply ignoring the truths of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution won't make them go away. And frankly, there are enough Americans, including me, who love it and our country far too much to allow our exceptionalism to be bartered for further expansion of an already out-of-control federal government.

[muman613]

I 100% agree with this.

America has been an exceptional country. It is one of the only countries from which Jews have never been expelled. It is one of the only countries where freedom is celebrated and diversity is accepted. I think Obama has done America a great disservice by talking down the American dream.

I have heard Paul Eidelberg {of the America-Israel Renaissance Institute} talk of this concept of American exceptionalism. Looking at the reasons America was so successful one finds that Judeo-Christian ideals are the root of this exceptionalism. Obama lied when he said that America is a 'muslim' country. None of the founding fathers were muslims, nor did any of them read the evil koran. I have no idea what muslim concepts are espoused in the Declaration of Independence or the American Constitution. Freedom and Liberty are certainly not muslim concepts as the very name 'islam' is from the word for 'subjugation'. The word Jew comes from the word 'Todah' which means 'giving thanks'.



http://i-ari.org/articles/the_fatuity_centrists.html

 The Fatuity of "Centrists"

   Paul Eidelberg
One does not have to be an extremist to recognize the fatuity of centrists. Even more obvious is their smugness. Consider some simple facts.

Was Moses, Israel's greatest prophet and law-giver, a "centrist"? Was King David, the warrior-psalmist, a "centrist"?

Would it not be absurd, nay, outrageous, to classify, Isaiah and Jeremiah as well as martyrs like Rabbi Akiba as "centrists"? On the other hand, would it not trivialize them to label these paragons of wisdom and virtue "extremists" or "right-wingers"? And what about Jesus? Was he a "centrist"? Do you find "centrism" in these words of Matthew 5:18-19:

Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the Torah. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. I tell you this: So long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a dot, will disappear from the Torah until it is achieved. If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Torah's demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Torah, and teaches others so, will stand high in the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Centrism" has become the idolatry of milk-and-toast democracy, where politicians and journalists must be exceedingly cautious about what they say or write despite all the hoopla about freedom of speech and of the press. Centrists play it safe.

The teachers and saviors of mankind have been anything but "centrists." The greatest President of the United States, who preserved the Union—and knowingly at the cost of so much blood and destruction—was not a "centrist."

Was Leonardo de Vinci a "centrist"? Was Beethoven? Was Galileo? Why is it that we do not admire and celebrate the "great centrists" of human history? Are they invisible? Or are they so commonplace that they bore us?

Since centrists thrive in democracies, why are they so smug when, in every democracy, idiots and drunkards can vote in elections to license who will lead their country? Is one adult-one vote a "centrist" principle, or is it an "extremist" principle? Or perhaps "centrism" and "extremism" unite in egalitarianism?

Be this as it may, "centrism" goes well with "political correctness." This suggests that centrists are not models of moral courage and intellectual integrity. On the other hand, it may be argued that centrists exhibit the classical virtue of moderation, a precondition of civilized society in which no individual or group has a monopoly of wisdom.

But centrists do not preach moderation as a moral virtue. Nor do they follow the wisdom of Aristotle, who teaches that we must sometimes resort to extreme measures in order to achieve a state of affairs where moderation is restored and becomes the rule of political life.

To paraphrase a wise man, moderation in defense of one's country is not a virtue. Hence it would be misleading and even mischievous to regard those who smugly pose today as "centrists" as exemplars of the classical virtue of moderation. Indeed, if we consider honestly and seriously the conflict between Israel and its genocidal enemies, it may often be the case that "extremism" rather than "centrism" is the proper course for Israeli's government to take, to safeguard this country and thereby promote moderation in the Middle East.