The U.S. Is Exceptional — Let’s Keep It Exceptional

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On the anniversary of September 12, 2001, the day that every American woke up, feeling united, I felt the need to write this essay to point out American exceptionalism. I’m not going to be shy about it or deny it like President Obama has done — the U.S. is, without question, exceptional.

To the apologists and progressives: deal with it. It’s true. Denying it may make you feel less scorn from the halls of Europe, but you are lying to yourself. America is exceptional. I’m not being boastful, I’m merely stating fact.

I could go into an arduous litany of America’s accomplishments, such as the Apollo moon landing (my favorite), kicking butt in WWII, the light bulb, man-made flight, the telephone, the iPod, the microwave oven, soft-serve ice cream, etc. The problem with such a list is that there is also a list of bad and horrible things that sprung from the U.S., such as Manifest Destiny, which resulted in the expulsion and extermination of Indians, Japanese internment camps during WWII (thanks Roosevelt), supplying arms to dangerous organizations, the TV shows Glee and Two and a Half Men, Woodrow Wilson, the Twilight series, hippies, etc.

So, what makes America exceptional? The U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution

This eternal document has given us liberty, freedom, and prosperity for over two-hundred years. There wasn’t anything like it before, and nothing like it since it was ratified. In fact, since the ratification of The Constitution, there have been other countries, too numerous to count, which have each gone through dozens of revolutions and constitutions. The United States is the longest lasting constitutional republic in the history of the world. This is exceptional. This cannot be disputed.

Whether you think that it was created by reasoned and wise men, or you are like me and think it was created by reasoned and wise men via the miracle of divine providence, the power of The Constitution is irrefutable. It recognizes an eternal truth: each individual has unalienable rights.


It puts strict limits on the federal government in order to prevent tyranny of the states and the individual. It designates the separate and distinct powers of the three branches of government. It ensures that the government cannot infringe on speech, religion, due process, the right to bear arms, the right to assemble, nor infringe on the power of the states.

Contrary to what modern day education teaches, The Constitution establishes our country not as a democracy, but as a republic. The individual has power granted from God and nature, and we grant a portion of this power to elected representatives and an executive. We also have the ability to take this power away and give it to another who is more worthy, if we deem that doing so is necessary. The individual is sovereign. This is exceptional.

“But It’s An Old, Out-Of-Date, Dusty Document”

This claim is made by enemies of freedom and their naive and ignorant followers. The Constitution is old, but it is hardly out-of-date, nor is it dusty (figuratively or literally).

There have been cries such as, “The Constitution was written over two-hundred years ago! There is no way that the founding fathers could have foreseen {insert whiny talking-point here} occurring. It’s too old and doesn’t accurately address issues of the 21st century.”

Okay, that’s a good point. Sort of. If those folks would actually educate themselves on the founding fathers, they would realize that the framers were inspired with the idea that they could not foresee future needs. So, they gave us the amendment process. They gave us the ability to add to The Constitution. The framers did it ten times. The first ten amendments are known as The Bill of Rights. In total, The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times, the last instance was twenty years ago in 1992.

True, not all of the amendments have been for the benefit of the citizens. In fact, I think that the three worst amendments are the 16th, 17th, and 18th. Fortunately, the amendment process comes with a fix for horrible amendments — the amendment process! Yeah, that sounds a bit weird. Basically, an amendment can be repealed by another amendment — amendment 21 repeals amendment 18. I live in hope that amendments 16 and 17 will someday be repealed.

Know It

As a citizen of our constitutional republic, you have the duty to know and understand The Constitution, otherwise, you are at risk of losing freedom and liberty. If you have never read The Constitution, or haven’t read it in a long while, click here and study it. It really isn’t as long and arduous as you think. I read it once a year, on the anniversary of its adoption on September 17, 1787.

In so doing, notice some of the misinformation that has been spread about the law which is The Constitution. How many of us believe that federal judges have a lifetime appointment? This is false. You will find that in Article III, Section I, federal judges “shall hold their offices during good behaviour” (John Roberts? Have you been a naughty judge?).

How many of us were taught that the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) have separate but equal powers? This too is also false. They have separate and distinct powers, but not equal powers. Article I, which establishes the legislative, is plainly longer than Article II (executive) and much longer than Article III (judicial). Congress clearly has more power if they decide to wield it. They have the ability to stop abuses from the judicial and executive.

How many of you were taught we live in a democracy? Article IV Section IV states “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government.” We are a republic, not a democracy.

Abuse Of Power

Have you read The Declaration of Independence lately? Contrary to popular belief, we did not declare independence from the crown merely because of taxation without representation. That was only one of many reasons. The Declaration of Independence lists all the reasons, and they can be summed up thusly: abuse of power.

After The Revolutionary War, we had the opportunity to fix and prevent those abuses. This was done via The Constitution.

For the past few decades, many presidents have bypassed The Constitution. Our current President, Barack Hussein Obama, has circumvented both The Constitution and Congress. Most recently, he bypassed Congress via a so called “executive order” regarding illegal aliens ([url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnzVe_gGTXU”]see him talk about it here[/url]). For over a year, he  complained about The Constitution and that it didn’t let him do what he wanted to do. so he finally did something about it — he ignored it. That isn’t the first time either.

Earlier this year, Obama signed the 2012 National Defense Act. In it, the federal government can detain citizens indefinitely without constitutional due process. The written ground-rules for such detention are so loosely defined, it could be applied to anyone at any time.

Obama has circumvented The Constitution so many times, I cannot list them all here. Don’t take my word for it, do your own research.

The bottom line: Obama has no love or respect for The Constitution. Watch this video. Obama refers to The Constitution as a document of “negative liberties.” He also makes mention that he feels that government is the answer, not the individual. He refers to “economic justice” and “redistribution of wealth,” principles that are not the principles of a constitutional republic, but the principles of marxism and communism.

Obama is not the first president to ignore The Constitution.  Several have, in both parties.  If our president can ignore The Constitution when it inconveniences him/her, why don’t we just throw the whole thing away, because it doesn’t have any meaning if it is not followed.

 

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