American Exceptionalism - How the World’s Greatest 'Turnaround' Nation Will Do It Again

Photo Credit: TownHall Individual liberty, rule of law, and economic freedom are central to what makes America unique in world history. Our success, our power, and our global influence rest strongly on the values on which this country was founded.

English author G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed…It enunciates that all men are equal in their claim to justice, that governments exist to give them that justice, and that their authority is for that reason just.” The creed Chesterton refers to is, of course, the Declaration of Independence. This endowing document approved by Congress 238 years ago tomorrow proclaims that all people are created free and equal.

Sadly, an entire generation of young Americans is emerging from our schools and universities that is no longer being taught what it means to be an American. The cries of political correctness and the one world movement insist that teachers and professors not acknowledge excellence, either for individuals or for our country. It is all an effort to level the playing field.

However, much is to be said for American exceptionalism. The truth is that in 5,000 years of recorded human history, there has never before been a nation like America. A leader throughout the agricultural, industrial, and technological eras, America stands alone in the advancement of human innovation. When we think of America’s inventive genius, our country is responsible for the birth of technologies used around the world every day: personal computers, the internet, GPS, the lightbulb, the telephone, and the airplane.