American Exceptionalism

While the Founders of America, 240 years ago, could not have dreamed that their creation would one day become a global superpower, in hindsight it seems almost preordained. The Founders were concerned mainly that America would not long survive independence, and as late as the War of 1812 there were fears that the new country would dissolve or be reabsorbed into the British Empire, still the most powerful nation on Earth at the time.

How times have changed.

While certainly not at peak strength, the United States today is still the unrivaled sole global superpower, boasting both the largest economy and most powerful military in the world. But more important is the way we've used that power and influence over the course of our country's history. America may be the first nation in history to successfully declare independence and forge its own path, but it remains the only nation in history to be founded on an idea, rather than merely a shared loyalty to ancestral land. An idea of liberty and freedom, which gave birth to an experiment in which all men were truly, eventually recognized as being created equal.

And the legacy of that founding and that idea has continued to make America exceptional, in how it serves as a universal symbol of hope and freedom. Throughout our history, we've recognized the importance of being that symbol, which is why so many of our wars have been fought not for land or resources, but for the preservation of liberty, either for ourselves or for others. Whether in the Revolution, Civil War, World Wars One and Two, Vietnam, or Afghanistan and Iraq, millions of American soldiers have given their lives in the defense of liberty around the world. We've sought not to occupy and permanently conquer countries liberated from empires and dictators, but to rebuild them and set them on a path to true independence, as with Cuba, Japan, Iraq, and others. And while America has occasionally made mistakes, just as anything created by mortals sometimes does, we've always carried on the larger goal of advancing liberty and freedom with renewed determination.

It is not hyperbole to say that we truly live in the greatest nation in human history.