American Exceptionalism: A Primer for Liberals

I read an article on another website where the author made the statement that American exceptionalism is a dangerous myth. He attempted to retrace our roots through the rose-colored glasses of the liberal that America was once great – but that it is no more.

Liberals have to know that they are so far from understanding what America is really about — but alas, they do not.

American exceptionalism is not a state of being for a country. The principle that has made America exceptional for the last 237 years is that each individual has the ability through his own hard work to become as exceptional as his abilities can make him.

The Beliefs of American Liberalism

That idea of individual success is what liberals want to strip away. To them, you do not have – the freedom to choose, the right to make your own way in the world, or the freedom to fail.

• Liberals will tell you that you cannot be successful without the government. That you are and will be a failure on your own.

Yet, the American liberal doesn’t seem to realize that there is no true success without the risk of failure.

• Liberals will tell you that they are the far more inclusive group (as they dictate to you what you are and are not capable of, whether you are right or wrong, and now more than ever, what you are supposed to think and believe) who understands what you are going through.

Yet, the American liberal does not realize that the circumstances of every individual are different. No one is capable of addressing them all in such a way as to appease them all. It simply cannot be done.

• They want to tell you that everything should be provided for you regardless of anything (and then dictate what you should or should not have).

Yet, they don’t realize that for every person who does not work – or more precisely chooses not to work; they need someone to work twice as hard to provide for them. That if an individual does not have a goal to strive for, he has no motivation to work at all.

That is not America.

American Individualism

Obama told “Joe the Plumber” that there are people who need him to not be successful as possible because his success somehow is limiting what others are capable of doing – and he was to be held accountable for their failure.

If you look back to the founding of this country, the idea of the individual was embedded into our Declaration of Independence. Let’s start with this – 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…”

The clear intent of this statement is that all men are created equal – at the time of their birth. After that, each individual has to grow, learn, and adapt to whatever life throws at him. He has to be able to handle change – since that is the one true constant – each and every time it happens and improve his own lot in life.

That is something the American Liberal does not believe you can do.

Inalienable Rights

The American liberal should also look once again at this part of our Declaration —

“…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

That is it. There is no fundamental right to healthcare. There is no fundamental right to a higher education. (You are not even guaranteed happiness.) Your life will be filled with things that you must “pursue” if you think that it will make you happy.

You cannot delude yourself into thinking that the world owes you everything – but that is the false promise of liberalism. They want you to believe that you can have your cake and eat it too – without having to do anything to get it. The government will provide you with everything. The promise of American liberalism can be summed up in a statement by Thomas Sowell  –

“…people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society owes them something…”

That is what is happening in this presidency. The American Liberal, led by Obama, has promised the majority of the electorate that it can provide them with everything and it will not costs them at all. These people who have believed this lie will now have no reason to contribute to the well-being of others; because there is no impetus for them to do so or no price to pay if they do not.

If America is declining, it is because of this mentality. The American Liberal has infected the very consciousness of our society with the idea that you do not need to work, that you are incapable of success on your own, that you must be dependent on government for your very well-being.

As Ronald Reagan said –

“It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is responsible for his own actions.”

The success of this country has been measured by the success of the individual. Why do Mexicans cross the border time and time again in spite of violating our laws? It is simple –

They know that they can achieve greater individual success here – working for lower wages than Americans would – than they ever could at home. Until this presidency, they never complained about it. They looked for work, took it when it presented itself, accepted whatever money was paid them – and then started the cycle again the next day.

Now, they have the same mentality as liberals, they expect to be taken care of and they feel no compulsion to assimilate into our society either.

I grew up in poverty. But I made my own way in the world — despite my circumstances. I have enjoyed success as a school teacher and now have moved on into the corporate world where I continue to enjoy success.

Unlike the liberal, I do so realizing that there is the possibility of failure. Unlike the liberal, I accept that risk and I take personal responsibility to overcome that challenge on a daily basis. I do not want welfare, I do not want handouts. What I want is to keep all that I have earned, provide for the family I have, and then share with my fellow man, who may be in need, out of my own free will.

That is America!