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Opinions are fun. My friends tell me I am someone with lots of opinions and that's fine since I don't get mad at others when they disagree with me. In this same spirit I am interested in hearing yours views as long as you are able to share your views without boiling over. I look forward to hearing from you. I tend to write in the form of short essays most of the time, but contributions do not need to be in this same format or size. Some of the content here will date itself pretty quickly, other content may be virtually timeless, this is for the reader to judge.

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What makes America Great?                                                                                    

Posted at: May/17/2012 : Posted by: mel

Related Category: Historical Insights, Perspectives, Watching America,

I know, this question has been asked and answered by thousands before me. Nevertheless, I have felt compelled and challenged to write this since I started writing two years ago. This has been confusing for me because every time I felt I knew the answer, I quickly followed that thought with doubt after being dragged in a new direction I did not anticipate. I have a different tact I am going to take and we can see if I effectively make my point by the time I finish.

It took me a number of years to realize it, but our Constitution is pretty amazing and arguably is a big part of what makes America great. I know, it was pretty boring stuff to study during high school. It is true that the authors borrowed heavily from the Virginia Constitution, but the result was a very unique document. Some people are frustrated by the document’s vagueness, but in reality that may be part of its greatness. The vagueness of the Constitution’s wording allows for it to evolve and be reinterpreted with time enhancing its durability. This kind of durability also makes it resistant to becoming irrelevant with time. As the foundation of our government, the Constitution does draw very definite boundaries between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Sometimes it seems our government is mired in accomplishing nothing, but these carefully crafted separations defined in the Constitution impede any one branch from assuming too much power and thereby inhibit change from happening too quickly without broad cooperation.

Another item that makes America great is our regular transition of power and leadership. For some of this we need to give credit to George Washington. At the end of his second term of office, many around him insisted that he not give up the office. Despite their entreaties for him to seek a third term he peacefully left office insisting that the next president be supported. This set the standard and since then only one president, Franklin D. Roosevelt has served longer than two terms of office. More important than the men or the length of service is the means by which we change our presidents. An election, an oath of office, some speeches and handshakes is our sustaining process. At the end of this the retiring president quietly goes home to write their memoirs. What is special here?.....No guns, no tanks and no columns of troops. We take for granted our changing of the guard at the white house, but we shouldn’t. For most of the world’s nations, leadership does not change without armed revolt, or militia and armor in the streets of the capital ensuring or driving a particular outcome. If you looked at the United Nations roll call of nations, you would find that very few of those countries have a sustaining history of peacefully transitioning the highest power in the land.

Another factor in America’s greatness is our willingness to take risks and experiment. Experimenting is about trying something you think will make life better, then living with the results. In business the successful entrepreneurs seldom stands still and virtually never depend on doing what everyone else is already doing. Playing it safe is a means of survival, but not generally associated with success. The first of our experiments was the idea of forming the first democratic government of the modern era. Other experiments have included attempting to solve slavery, forming a cohesive population from a melting pot of peoples, accepting Jewish people openly into our population, women voting, the prohibition of alcohol, the civil rights movement, women in politics, and the social programs of the 1960’s. There are likely other items you would add to this list. Many of these items you likely take for granted, yet nearly all of these were controversial in their day. While common across the globe, these are all things that America did first. As life has likely taught you, change is never easy. Most of these are programs have since been implemented across many of the world’s western countries. Obviously, experimenting comes with the risk of failure. While well intentioned, the prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th century created a tremendous amount of crime. The expansive list of social programs implemented in the 1960’s in many cases proved to be expensive flops without creating the desired utopian social outcome. Interestingly, socialistic variations on welfare have been implemented in many countries with similar failing results. Nevertheless, taking risks is important; Isn’t there a sports expression, “no pain, no gain.” Ultimately, if you want to just finish, copy what others are doing, if you want to win you need to be innovative and take some risks.

One of the things that I believe also makes America great is our openness. To give a little credit, this goes hand in hand with our unofficial fourth branch of government. The press and modern media have assumed the role “fourth estate” endeavoring to keep all the other branches honest. Whether it is Watergate, arms deals, incompetence at a federal agency, excessive spending in Las Vegas on a government event, or a host of other transgressions; these all get reported eventually. Many of these things end as Congressional hearings, but begin as stories broken open by the reporters of our news media. Once broken open, these stories will run across the globe and are nothing if not embarrassing. Leaders of more repressive countries often include America’s transgressions in their speeches to help justify their political stance. Somehow, we manage to recover after each event. I don’t personally believe that our government transgresses significantly more than any other. I do believe it is important that our news media in their specially protected position is allowed to investigate and report things without fear for their own safety. I bring this up because I have discussed this with people I have met from all over the globe. Apparently; in much of the world, reporting on things that are unfavorable to your government tends to also put you and your family’s health and safety at risk. Obviously, airing your dirty laundry for all to see is embarrassing, but it also adds an honesty coefficient to the system. I have come to believe that if and when officials abuse their position, it will get found out and reported regardless of any agenda that a particular media outlet may appear to have in the short run. Embarrassing or not, the investigating and reporting of these transgressions help to reduce abuse and the risk of government not being accountable.

There is no way to talk about America’s greatness without discussing the abundance of raw materials and agricultural richness we possess. Much of America’s wealth is directly related to agriculture and raw material wealth. The list here is actually quite extensive. You could point to the timber resources of the east and west coasts, the abundant fresh water supply, oil and gas reserves or minerals deposits. To me, the most significant resource is our arable land. From the Adirondacks’ in the east, to the Rocky Mountain’s in the west is one of the largest farming and agricultural regions in the world. There are additional smaller regions scattered throughout the U. S. This is significant because there are only a handful of countries in the world that produce more grains, vegetables and meat than they consume. In fact, America’s single largest export sector is not aircraft or technology, it is food. All this arable land and our ability to leverage it for vast amounts of crops each year has meant that we are not at the mercy of other countries for the staples of existence. Even when you read about a drought or other agricultural disaster, we don’t feel the impact with shortages in the grocery stores. We produce so much food that the disaster impact is felt in fewer exports and a higher price periodically in the grocery store. It is important to credit the success of our farmers with giving the rest of our society the freedom to do other things. Other great resources include the iron ore that fueled the railroads and industrialization along with coal and oil. I could go on and on here, but the short answer is that America is rich in just about every natural resource except some of the exotic minerals used in leading edge technologies.

Ethnic and cultural diversity is for many countries a frustration, but for America it has been a path to strength for the last 300 years. Founded on immigration, America has continued to accept new waves of immigrants through most of its history. Immigrants tend to bring with them the zeal to excel and the willingness to take risks and work hard to get there. I am personally not a big proponent of multi-cultural titles, (Italian-American, African-American, Mexican-American, etc.). Teddy Roosevelt used to call these “hyphenated Americans.” Nevertheless, part of our strength is our extended family and historical relationships with other countries and regions. Countries who have tried repressing multiculturalism in favor of a homogeneous people with 100% social integration have encountered major internal conflicts. Our ethnic diversity and multiculturalism forces different peoples to develop a tolerance and understanding for each other through regular contact. Beating down these barriers dilutes the ignorance we often have about each other that would otherwise lead to distrust. As the walls fall, we are more able to leverage the strengths and new ideas from each new group of people. Few countries in the world can brag of a more diverse population than America.

There is no way to speak on America’s greatness without bringing up Free Speech. Free Speech, or Freedom of Expression seems an obvious strength, but its value can be difficult to measure. I know that sometimes this freedom is stretched by groups using adversarial tactics and defamatory language. Fundamentally, this freedom inhibits the courts, military or government in general from telling you how to think and what you are allowed to say. The Supreme Court has yet to come up with a coherent definition for free speech because it is such an elusive and evolving target. Freedom of speech finds it greatness not merely in what you say on the street corner or in a blog, but in literature, art, science and the political process. The creativity necessary for all of the aforementioned to flourish is rooted in the freedom to say something that was not previous considered mainstream or even acceptable. As many can attest to, what is considered radical, extremism or idealistic now, may in a few months or years be accepted as mainstream thoughts and ideas. Allowing the freedom of thought which ultimately becomes words is fundamental to our uniquely American culture.

A chance for the mystical thing we call the “American Dream” is probably the most recognizable aspect of American Greatness at an individual level. I know that with the “Great Recession”, for many the notion of the American Dream may be fading. For many decades the dream was tied to home ownership. Historically, the American Dream has been more about optimism and the chance to better yourself than any single object to measure the dream by. This betterment could be the security of home ownership, the opportunities to control your own destiny through a personal business, or the chance to provide for your children’s education and security you did not have. I don’t really believe that the dream has ebbed that much because it is really about the chance for "vertical mobility." A recent survey reported that only 18% of Americans thought the economy would be better next year, but in the same survey, 64% thought that they would individually be better off next year than this year. Clearly, the American Dream is still alive and well. Tying the dream to any one outcome such as home ownership is shortsighted; the dream is about optimism and opportunity on an individual level. I know that the news media reports on the 99%’s and the 1%’s. Throughout our history there have always been the haves and have not’s. Nevertheless, there are actually very few real barriers to transitioning from one stratum in our country to another. In much of the world, the cast you are born into is the cast you are tied to for life. The opportunities to do much in life beyond what your parents do are extremely limited, but in America even our political parties harken to this notion of opportunity. We don’t have a “house of lords” or a “Labor Party“. Our current history shows that virtually anyone can rise to do anything, look at the college dropouts who have started businesses and accumulate great wealth or the child of immigrants who became the president. For most of us our personal version of the American Dream is limited only by our drive and willingness to take risks.

Clearly, there is no single thing that makes America Great. Abundant resources, free speech, a diverse population, our Constitution, the chance to make and pursue your own interruption of the American dream, all of these contribute to the greatness of our country.

“American Exceptionalism” is a contemporary term used to describe America’s uniqueness. Irony being what it is; the term was first used by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1929. Stalin used the term when arguing with a political group that wanted to be more like America. Stalin argued that because of America’s natural resources, industrial capacity and lack of rigid class distinctions they (American’s) were an exception to the Marxist laws of history.

Over time, American Exceptionalism has evolved to represent an ideology and set of dogmas for what is intended to be a good society. Currently the ideology of America as reported by historians is wrapped up in five words: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. These five terms are the short version of the ideas I have previously shared.

Describing what makes American great is both easy to define and elusive to pin down. Maybe G. K. Chesterton (English writer & philosopher: 1874-1936) said it best when describing what makes America great. He noted that based on the introduction portion of the Declaration of Independence, “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed.” In many countries, a national identity is derived from a common history. Being an American and making America great is not a matter of birth, it is an ideological commitment to a creed born out of revolution.

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