AMERICAN
EXCEPTIONALISM UNDER SIEGE
By
Jimmie
R. Applegate
American exceptionalism is under siege, and the
battle line has been very clearly drawn.
To the right of the battle line are the bald, pale and gray religious
American males, their mature spouses and mature seniors of various racial,
ethnic and national backgrounds. On the
left side of the battle line are, for the most part, the younger males and
females, the so-called have nots, the less educated, those with various sexual
and cultural orientations, the large number of immigrants who refuse to
assimilate and the illegal aliens living in the United States sans legal
documentation. Without question
activists on the left outnumber the entrenched on the right. Demographics and actions by the current socialist
statist government ensure an ever increasing discrepancy.
There are other reasons why those Americans on the
right side will remain outnumbered by those on the left. The $17.3 trillion national debt is placing,
at the current rate, a $191,671 dollar debt per citizen and a $752,167 dollar
debt per family. And there is not much
doubt but what the national debt ceiling will be raised again. In addition, since Republicans are in the
majority on the right side, their ad hoc comments regarding women, other gender
and religious issues as well as the involvement of the United States in
international affairs will continue to “turn off” potential members.
Fortunately many of the above issues are
generational; i.e., the foci on the right side must be on the future. The embers of American exceptionalism still
burn. For them to once again blaze
brightly those on the right must take action on several issues.
First and foremost we must plan for the future by
reviewing and emphasizing the past. We
must stand by John Winthrop’s charge to his fellow Pilgrims while at sea
enroute to the New World “…for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty
upon a Hill, the eies of all people are upon us.” Winthrop prayed to the “one God” and closed by
saying, “But if our heartes shall turne away soe that wee will not obey, but
shall be seduced and worshipp other Gods our pleasures, and profits, and serve
them, it is propounded unto us this day, wee shall surely perishe out of the
good Land whether wee passé over this vast Sea to possesse it; Therefore lett
us choose life, that wee, and our Seede, may live, by obeying his voice, and
cleaveing to him, for hee is our life, and our prosperity.”
Then we must renew our emphases on recreating and
maintaining the American exceptionalism so explicitly described by Alexis de Tocqueville
in “Democracy in America” published in 1835 following his travels throughout
America. This quotation of his is
prescient, “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common except for one word,
equality. But notice the difference:
while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in
restraint and servitude”.
Additionally we must read and reread, understand and
follow the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States,
the Bill of Rights and the writings of the authors of these documents in the
Federalist Papers. The United States is
a Constitutional Federal Republic with a government of by and for the people
with clear descriptions of the rights of states and a limited central
government. The separation of church and
state is clear even though religion was central in the lives of early
Americans. The separation of powers
language describes in unequivocal language the limitations of the Executive,
Legislative and Judicial branches of government.
Other contemporary actions can be taken. The actions that emphasize the distinctions
between the social progressives left of the line and the moral religious
Americans on the right must be modified in tone. I am not suggesting those on the right
minimize for example their strong religious feelings. But we can reduce the perceived bluster of
the “religious right” in political debate by focusing on the solid religious
history of America from John Winthrop and de Tocqueville until today, and on
the traditions and moral values that made America exceptional.
Those on the right side must focus immediately on
weakening the position of the liberal, progressive, socialist statist President
of the United States for the remainder of his term. This can be done within the separation of
powers in the Constitution. Current
elected representatives of the people and local, state and federal courts
including the Supreme Court of the United States must be challenged by the
people through jury nullification, if necessary, to become less activist.
The voting citizens of the United States on both the
left and the right must not elect another President so lacking in
qualifications, so secretive and as opposed to traditional American values and
exceptionalism as is President Obama. In
his 2010 book, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage”, Denish D’Souza described the
influences of Obama’s background and on his actions resulting in the implementation
of liberal, progressive, socialist, statist and anti-American exceptionalism
principles of government. American
voters had only to read D’Souza’s book to know before the 2012 election what
has come to pass. D’Souza has every
right to proclaim loudly, “I told you so”.
The call to action is to read it now to ensure President Obama is not
followed by more of the same, male or female.
Americans must elect Democratic or Republican
Constitutional Conservatives to offices at all levels of government if we wish
to rekindle the fire of American exceptionalism so it blazes brightly on the
shining city upon a hill.
This can, and must be, done to return America to a
nation of laws, of assimilated legal immigrants, of a return to the traditional
values of a single, almighty God and a society with a strong moral foundation,
a clear work ethic, self-sufficiency, independence, responsibility and an
understanding of the phrase, “the pursuit of happiness” (underline added
for emphasis). As I wrote in an earlier
document, “Now is not the time to be politically correct, timid or afraid to
speak our minds. We must do so in
defense of the traditional exceptional American values we inherited so we can
say we did all we could to pass them on to our children and grandchildren. Otherwise, we will be judged indefensibly
guilty of ignoring reality by sticking our heads in the sand. The decisions we make and the consequences
therefrom are ours!”
Only then will the blaze of American exceptionalism
burn brightly and illuminate the “shining city upon a hill”.
