The 4th of July and American exceptionalism

The term "American exceptionalism" refers to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the unique American identity which arose from an American civilization that honored them. When our current President was asked if he believed point-blank in this concept, he said each nation believes in its own exceptionalism, which, of course, really says there is no such thing as true American exceptionalism. A new book contrasts this idea effectively -- A Nation like No Other by Newt Gingrich. On this Fourth of July I wanted to include some quotations here from this book to illustrate how unique our country is and how blessed we are to be part of it.


"Belief in American exceptionalism leads inevitably to a smaller, more effective, accountable, and limited government. The American revolutionaries did not shed their blood for the welfare state; nor did they replace the arbitrary rule of King George and his officers with their own oppressive bureaucracy. Instead, they fought for individual liberty -- that made America an exception among all other nations."


"Big government and an increasingly centralized economy are the antitheses of liberty, which is fundamentally connected to free enterprise, local power, smaller, more effective, limited government. Our Founding Fathers understood these ideals and fought for them, just as we, in a different way, must fight for them today."


"No nation had ever before embraced human equality and God-given individual rights as its fundamental organizing principle. America was the exception, because never before had a nation recognized sovereignty in the citizen rather than the government. Never before had a nation been brought forth that was dedicated first and foremost to identifying the source and nature of the individual's rights and defending those rights, and only secondarily to defining the scope of governmental power -- and then only in relation to, and limited by, the individual's unalienable rights."


"Acceptance of this simple hierarchy -- God, then the individual, then government -- set America apart, an exception from all nations that came before it."


"True liberty had come to mean [to the Founding Fathers] freedom of faith and conscience, while religion was deemed necessary to support liberty, a gift of God. The purpose of liberty was to give glory to God. If God was forsaken, liberty's purpose would be destroyed, and liberty itself would give way to tyranny."


There's much more to think about in A Nation Like No Other, but I'll save that for a future blog. I hope on this Fourth of July that we take some time to appreciate how special America really is.