We had an
interesting lesson in Relief Society last Sunday. Our teacher referred to an op-ed piece written
by Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and published last fall in The New York Times. Mr. Putin wrote his article in an effort
to “speak directly to the American people and their political leaders”. The article was basically about Syria, but it
ended with a reference to a statement by Barack Obama about America being “exceptional.” Mr. Putin wrote, “It is extremely dangerous
to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the
motivation. There are big countries and
small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those
still finding their way to democracy. Their
policies differ, too. We are all
different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that
God created us equal.”
Our teacher asked us if we
believe America is exceptional. Various
women gave their reasons for why they believe America is exceptional. As a
group, we determined that America is exceptional. The teacher also teaches
early morning Seminary to high school students, and she posed the same question
to her Seminary students last fall. The
teens did not believe America is exceptional.
Later that day, I posed the same
question to my twelve-year-old granddaughter and thirteen-year-old grandson and
learned that they did not believe America is exceptional. I asked them to explain their reasoning, and
they referred to the crime and wickedness in our nation. After a short discussion about crime and
wickedness in other countries, we agreed that we could not use those two
categories to judge exceptionality. My
younger son jumped into the conversation and shared several reasons why America
is exceptional.
Matthew Spalding at The Heritage
Foundation wrote an article entitled “Why is America Exceptional?” He began by writing about the beginning of America. “In 1776, when America announced its
independence as a nation, it was composed of thirteen colonies surrounded by
hostile powers. Today, the United States
is a country of fifty states covering a vast continent. Its military forces are the most powerful in
the world. Its economy produces almost a
quarter of the world’s wealth. The
American people are among the most hard-working, church-going, affluent, and
generous in the world….
“Every nation derives meaning
and purpose from some unifying quality – an ethnic character, a common
religion, a shared history. The United
States is different. America was founded
at a particular time, by a particular people, on the basis of particular
principles about man, liberty, and constitutional government.”
Mr. Spalding concluded his
article by explaining why America is exceptional. “America is an exceptional nation, but not because
of what it has achieved re accomplished.
America is exceptional because, unlike any other nation, it is dedicated
to the principles of human liberty, grounded on the truths that all men are
created equal and endowed with equal rights.
These permanent truths are `applicable to all men and all times,’ as
Abraham Lincoln once said.
“America’s principles have
created a prosperous and just nation unlike any other nation in history. They explain why Americans strongly defend
their country, look fondly to their nation’s origins, vigilantly assert their
political rights and civic responsibilities, and remain convinced of the
special meaning of their country and its role of the world. It is because
of its principles, not despite them, that America has achieved greatness.
“To this day, so many years
after the American Revolution, these principles – proclaimed in the Declaration
of Independence and promulgated by the United States Constitution – still define
America as a nation and a people. Which
is why friends of freedom the world over look to the United States not only as
an ally against tyrants and despots but also as a powerful beacon to all those
who strive to be free.”
On January 25, 1974, Ronald
Reagan spoke at the first Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC) on
the topic “We Will Be A City Upon A Hill.” In his speech he quoted John Winthrop who spoke on “the tiny deck of the
Arabella in 1630 off the Massachusetts coast…. `We will be as a city upon a
hill. The eyes of all people are upon
us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and
so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and
a byword throughout the world.’ Well, we
have not dealt falsely with our God, even if He is temporarily suspended from
the classroom.
I believe that many Americans
have dealt falsely with God, but I will return to that subject later. The future President of the United States
concluded his speech: “One-half of all
the economic activity in the entire history of man has taken place in this
republic. We have distributed our wealth
more widely among our people than any society known to man. Americans work less hours for a higher standard
of living than any other people.
Ninety-five percent of all our families have an adequate daily intake of
nutrients – and a part of the five percent that don’t are trying to lose
weight! Ninety-nine percent have gas or
electric refrigeration, 92 percent have televisions, and an equal number have
telephones. There are 120 million cars
on our streets and highways – and all of them are on the street at once when
you are trying to get home at night. But
isn’t this just proof of our materialism – the very thing that we are charged
with? Well, we also have more churches,
more libraries; we support voluntarily more symphony orchestras, and opera
companies, non-profit theaters, and publish more books than all the other
nations of the world put together.
“Somehow America has bred a
kindliness into our people unmatched anywhere, as has been pointed out in that
best-selling record by a Canadian journalist.
We are not a sick society. A sick
society could not produce the men that set foot on the moon, or who are now
circling the earth above us in the Skylab.
A sick society bereft of morality and courage did not produce the men
who went through those years of torture and captivity in Vietnam. Where did we find such men? They are typical of this land as the Founding
Fathers were typical. We found them in
our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country
and on the farms.
“We cannot escape our destiny,
nor should we try to do so. The
leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that
little hall of Philadelphia. In the days
following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all
that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII
said, `The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish
actions. Into the hands of America God
has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.’
“We are indeed, and we are
today, the last best hope of man on earth.”
In my discussion with my
grandchildren about American exceptionalism, I very carefully explained to them
that we as individually are no better than any other person living anywhere in
the world, but America is exceptional because it was founded on principles of
truth revealed from God. Americans as a
group are exceptional when we live those principles.
No comments:
Post a Comment