On the first day of my American studies class this year we started off by discussing the Puritans of the New World. A man named John Winthrop was their leader and he delivered a famous speech called, “A Model of Christian Charity.” In it, he stated that the new society which they were creating would be a “city set upon a hill” for all of the world to admire and mimic. These moving words served as the foundation for a belief in American exceptionalism.
The idea is probably one of the most important in American history and has been alluded to by prominent political figures on both the left and right side of the political spectrum. JFK, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney have all made references to this shining ideal.
American exceptionalism, however, carries more weight than being a mere political tool for politicians to invoke in order that they may seem patriotic. It is the glue that holds the nation together.
Unlike Denmark or Japan, America is not a nation state. Each of us has a different culture, values, and beliefs. However, we can all coalesce around the idea that the United States is a great country with shining ideals and a dream that everyone can hope to fulfill. It is an idea which makes us ask what we can do for our country and not what our country can do for us.
That is why I was so astonished when only 5 out of 30 students raised their hands when my teacher asked if we thought America was exceptional in some way. This lack of belief in American exceptionalism and the American dream doesn’t in any way reflect that it is dead. In fact, all of the people in the class have better standards of living than 99% of people on earth. All of them have iphones and homes and attend school at one of the richest school districts in the entire country.
Therefore, their disdain for America is not the result of a lack of material prosperity which breeds hopelessness. It is the byproduct of a school system that insists on treating America as the bad actor in history. It is the product of my eighth grade teacher assigning Howard Zinn’s, A Young Person’s History of the United States, in social studies class.
We are at a turning point in American history, where a significant portion of the population doesn’t believe that America is special. And if it’s not special, why not destroy it and replace it with something better? The rioters from prestigious colleges flatter themselves by arrogantly believing that they can accomplish this task.
And the rioters who loot stores are able to convince themselves that if the American system is rigged with the injustices of the past, then their suffering is not self-imposed. They can ignore their own faults and throw responsibility to the wind.
Meanwhile, students in public schools are taught that America is a uniquely evil country with a foundation that is based on slavery instead of liberty. Then they go home and the media portrays anarchists and rioters as part of “mostly peaceful” and justified protests.
When asked by citizens what government had been created by delegates from the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” It takes more than laws to preserve a country, because laws can be changed and anarchy can rule.
Even when America was committing gross atrocities it was and still is the most free and prosperous country in the history of the world. An education system which fails to reflect this fact is doomed to degrade our republic and breed ingratitude and hatred. The answer is not the glossing over of America’s dark spots. The answer is highlighting the bright ones which are a gift to the world.
