The Right Opinion
The American Spirit
Are America's best days behind her?
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, seems to think so. "The American dream is a myth," he writes in a recent column. In a new USA Today/Gallup poll, nearly six in 10 disagreed with the idea that the next generation will live better than their parents do.
Negative thoughts like this are nothing new. It stands to reason that tough economic times will breed pessimism. Sometimes, though, we need to remind ourselves of the principles this country was founded on, and reconnect with the genius that created the United States of America, the only country founded not on identity, but on ideas.
That's what prompted my friend Brian Tracy to join me in writing a book called The American Spirit. As Brian explains in the introduction: "Today, millions of Americans are not clear about why the United States is the greatest country on earth and in all human history." And that's a shame.
Consider the phrase "the American Dream." The words themselves reveal something extraordinary. In all the history of man, there has been only one country with the word "dream" attached to it. There is no French Dream or Russian Dream or Chinese Dream. There is only the American Dream, to which people worldwide aspire and have aspired since our founding. From 194 countries, people have come to America to pursue this dream.
In America, people care very much who you are. They care little about your background. In America, you can start from anywhere, with or without benefits and advantages from your family, and make your own way and your own life. At any time, you can decide to change and do something completely different. Your life is yours to chart.
In my opinion, this freedom to define your own destiny ultimately derives from the Judeo-Christian tradition. God created us in His own image, and just as God is free, so we are meant for freedom.
Government's purpose is not to impose some elite-inspired vision of the good society on the rest of us, but to empower men and women to use their God-given freedom as they choose.
This opportunity has its roots in our extraordinary founding in 1776. Having such freedom is more the exception than the rule throughout much of human history. The republican form of government had mostly been consigned to the history books since the fall of Rome. Monarchies had ruled the leading powers of the world for centuries.
By choosing a republic, where the governed control the government -- not the other way around -- the Founding Fathers displayed faith in the individual's ability to know better than any elected or appointed official what is best for himself and his family. That's why they created a Constitution that protects our God-given rights from government. The government does not grant those rights to us as citizens.
If you believe we are granted our fundamental rights by the government, then you are more likely to seek additional favors from the government. If the government is the granter of all good things, what is to stop someone from thinking up more good things that could and should be granted by government?
Yet our government is not Santa Claus writ large, and our rights are not wish lists drawn up by eager tots on Christmas Eve. The Constitution does not grant us the wonderful rights we embrace; it handcuffs the government from infringing upon them. Or at least, it used to be that way.
Some might be tempted to conclude that the American experiment has failed. I take a different view. We've faced tougher problems in the past, yet our optimism has prevailed.
There's no reason why we shouldn't overcome our current difficulties as well -- provided we adhere to the virtues and values that constitute the American Spirit.
4 Comments
ct-tom in NC
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 8:58 AM
"There's no reason why we shouldn't overcome our current difficulties as well -- provided we adhere to the virtues and values that constitute the American Spirit."
Exactly, Ed. That is the reason for the pessimism: A huge proportion of our citizenry have no idea what those virtues and values are. And there is a sizable effort afoot, abetted by the media and education establishments, to keep them from learning.
Without a Reagan-type leader who can overwhelm the media (and Romney doesn't look like one from here), it seems very unlikely we will regain our bearings in time to avoid the darkness of total government, just as the founders feared.
wjm in Colorado
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 10:12 AM
Exactly, the sheeple don't have a clue what America is supposed to be about, and we have a Political party now openly anti-American, trying to destroy the Constitution, and supported by the treasonous Socialist Democrats and Communist Party of America. Instead of being impeached, the useful idiots embrace the marxist statists who would enslave them. This November may be the most important election the Country has ever held. It will determind if the American Dream has any glimmer of hope, or the traitors will complete the destruction of the Republic.
billy396 in ohio
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 4:07 PM
wjm, I usually agree with everything that you have to say. In this case, I'd have to make one small change. I firmly believe that this election will be, beyond any doubt, the MOST important election in the history of our once-great nation. We've faced tough times and tough choices before, but there's never been a President who openly and repeatedly ignores and tramples our Constitution and federal laws with such abandon (FDR being a close second). We've also reached a tipping point as far as the media. They've always been biased, it's just that now they don't even bother to pretend to be independent, truth-seeking journalists anymore.
When I went to school, the real push for Socialism didn't start until your first year of college. Since that time, they've lowered the age at which they start Socialist programming into elementary school. This is scary, at least to people who care about freedom, liberty, and the future of this country. My daughter came home from school one day and asked me what political party I belonged to. I advised her that I prefer to think that I'm independent, but that, if forced to pick a party, I'd have to go with the Libertarians. Her eyes got big and she said "But, Libertarians are anarchists!" I asked her where she got that bit of information and she told me that it came directly from her schoolteacher. She was about 11 or 12 at the time. I had to inform her that her teacher was misinformed. I've been to Libertarian group meetings that included judges, doctors, teachers (a few), lawyers, and frankly, some of the smartest people that I've ever met. These people are far from anarchists. The ideas exchanged at those meeting was some of the the smartest, fairest, most well-thought-out speech that I've ever heard in my entire life. The gangsters that comprise the DemoCrip and Rebloodlican gangs are getting worse and worse every year. I've borrowed these gang terms from Jesse ventura, but I think that they fit quite well. I've been forced to hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils for far too long. If Oblunder is reelected, it will be the end of this country as a Constitutional Republic, and the beginning of the end for America. The children and grandchildren of today would be the first generation of Americans to live in far worse conditions than their parents, with theri children living their lives as slaves to the state, supporting an ever-growing federal government which is already far, far too large.
Mags in NC
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 3:14 PM
Yes! Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Feulner, for talking about the term "the American Dream" in its correct historical context. I am so sick of Obama and other Democrats using this term (and even Republicans and other citizens) as if it only means gaining economic wealth and becoming part of the middle class. IT DOES NOT! For the long history of this phrase, the American Dream was about being able to pursue one's dreams unencumbered by government. I highly doubt Obama would ever use the phrase in that context!