Making America Great Always: A Love Letter

I have a confession to make.

I have a confession to make about something I’ve done in my classroom for the past 17 years.

Every single year in every single American History class or AP US History class I’ve ever taught I’ve always given the same disclaimer and I reiterate the disclaimer throughout the semester: “I am an American Exceptionalist. I truly believe that there is something special about the United States that sets it apart from the rest of the world. I believe that the US is the greatest nation that has ever graced the face of this Earth. That is not to say that the US has not done some bad things. We have. We have done some very bad things, and we will discuss and learn about those very bad things during the course of the class. But I believe that the good the US and its people have done for the world far outweighs the bad that the US and its people have done.”

There, I admitted to it. I’ve given some variation of this speech to probably thousands of students over the past 17 years. Ask any student who has been in one of my American History classes and they will confirm as much is true. I am an American Exceptionalist. I love my country. I would not want to live anywhere else in the world. I remember hearing Oprah Winfrey once say “If you were born in the United States, especially if you are a woman who was born in the United States, you should consider yourself extraordinarily lucky.” I couldn’t agree more. I do consider myself very lucky.

However, I’ve often thought about WHY is America an exceptional place? What is it that sets Americans apart from the rest of the world? Over the years I’ve come up with many answers to that query only to dismiss my thoughts after I had reflected on them. Until recently. I’ve arrived at an answer that I really can’t debunk. The answer to why I believe America is a truly exceptional place is pretty simple: OPTIMISM.

America and its people are truly optimistic. We believe, and always have, that tomorrow will be better than today. That next week will be better than this week. That if we happen to find ourselves in bad times, we know that eventually, we will find a solution to our problems. Americans are naturally optimistic. That trait is what sets us apart. That core belief is what makes Americans exceptional. We believe that we can overcome any obstacle set before us, and more often than not, we succeed in overcoming that obstacle. Be it a physical impediment or ideological, a social obstacle or political problem, Americans seem to relish the opportunity to try and solve these problems and we always believe we can overcome any barrier set before us. We are, if anything, optimistic to a fault.

The noted American historian, Fredrick Jackson Turner, noted in his masterpiece 1898 essay The Significance of the Frontier in American History, something similar in the makeup of the American psyche. He argued that it was the frontier that shaped the American identity, setting us apart from the rest of the world. Americans, from the earliest days, were confronted with a barrier that constantly challenged them mentally, physically and emotionally. A barrier that others around the world (especially Europeans) had long since faced and conquered in their homeland- a Frontier. A wilderness of unknown land containing unknown beasts and unknown enemies as well as untapped possibilities. As American settlers continued their push west, first from the Atlantic seaboard to the Appalachian Mountains, then to the Mississippi River, to the Rocky Mountains and eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean they were constantly having the overcome any number of unknown obstacles. More often than not, they had to do this alone. And yet, American settlers seemed undaunted and continued their push into the unknown. Constantly believing that beyond that rock, past that ridge, down in that valley it was most certainly better there than it was here. And if it was not better, then certainly whatever lay ahead would be an improvement. That experience is what made Americans different. That experience is what instilled into the American character our unrelenting sense of optimism. That virtue shaped us into who we are today and we continue to nurture that belief generation after generation.

In addition to our unflinching, persistent challenging of our very real frontier, we faced other crises and believed that we could persevere. Americans challenged the greatest, most dominate nation the world had ever known so that we might be independent. We should not have won, but we were optimistic and eventually we succeeded. England, as well as the rest of Europe, believed that our independence would be short-lived. We believed otherwise. The story of America is littered with similar stories of optimism. The American people have proven time and again, that we are an exceptional people because of our core belief that the future is far brighter than any darkness the present may now cast.

In 1800, a bitter, nasty election took place tinged with such overt partisanship that even by today’s standards we would find it shocking. Vice President Thomas Jefferson had just defeated the incumbent and his longtime friend John Adams for the Presidency. Indeed, it can be argued this election bore the two-party system that we know so well today. The world held its collective breath. Never before had there been a peaceful transfer of power from one political group to another. Surely, the American Experiment was about to end just as it was beginning.  However, Adams and his Federalist Party handed over power to Jefferson and his Republican Party [this is not the modern day Republican Party, the modern day Republican Party would be created in 1856] without incident. There was no bloodshed, absent was the dramatic storming of the White House by Jefferson as Adams and the Federalists barricaded themselves inside, no riots, nothing. Aside from what we would call some “dirty tricks” by way of some midnight appointments of Federalists to judgeship's on his way out of office, John Adams peacefully handed over the reins of government to his onetime closest confidant now most hated rival, Thomas Jefferson. There were not any mass defections of disgruntled Federalists to Europe or Canada or the French-owned Louisiana Territory. No, Federalists were optimistic that another election was coming and then they may again regain power. Or they believed that although the present was not very good, the future certainly would be better. So the Federalists stayed content with their optimism for tomorrow. Today, despite the threats from the left of mass defections to Canada should Donald Trump be elected, and the equal threats from the right should Hillary Clinton be elected, we know better. There will probably not be mass defections out of the country because we have faith that although we may not like the present certainly the future will be better.

During the 1970’s, Americans seemed to begin to lose their optimism. We had failed miserably in Vietnam, gas prices skyrocketed, Watergate only confirmed the notion that ‘all government is inherently corrupt’, crime was increasing, the dollar was decreasing, Americans were taken hostage in Iran and we could not seem to figure out a way to get them back, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and our best response was we would not participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Americans did not feel optimistic. Polls showed that for the first time in American history Americans believed that their children’s lives would be worse than their own. In essence, the majority of Americans did not believe that the future would be better. The core value of the United States was dying. Ronald Reagan reignited that core value. Reagan believed that tomorrow could be, should be, and would be better than today. That the future held far more promise than the past. Indeed, his campaign slogan reflected that unique American optimism; “It’s Morning Again In America”. Reagan captured the American imagination and the American electorate rewarded him with two resounding victories. Since then, American presidential candidates have tried to reflect American optimism into their campaigns. The most notable example of this is Barrack Obama’s simple “Hope” slogan. Americans love to believe that the future will be better than the past.

Perhaps the greatest example of American Optimism and Exceptionalism is in our examination of our past failures. We are not a perfect people, we are not a perfect country, we are not a perfect society. Far from it. And this brings me back to the point I have told all my American history students for the past 17 years; America has done some very bad things in its past. The most notable and obvious failures in American history is our shameful experience with slavery and our treatment of the American Indian. It is inexcusable to hold another person in bondage simply because they look different than you. It is inexcusable to believe that the “Only good Indian is a dead Indian”. These are shameful moments in American history. There are other equally appalling episodes in American History: Sand Creek Massacre, My Lai Massacre, Japanese Internment, racism, xenophobia, the Red Scare and McCarthyism. All of these exposed the very worst in America. However, I believe that all of these also point to that which makes America exceptional. America does not shy away from these incidents. These events are taught in schools across America with as much fervor as the teaching of the Bill of Rights, the Progressive Movement, the Berlin Airlift or the Marshal Plan. Americans do not shy away from our failures, we tend to embrace them. This is unlike many countries around the world. I once had a German exchange student. She was a very bright, delightful young lady. However, she was shocked to learn of the widespread atrocities of Nazi Germany. She admitted that this was not a subject widely taught or spoken of in Germany. Japanese textbooks routinely omit the horrendous crimes against humanity committed by Japan in the Pacific during WWII. America embraces our failures as much as we do our successes. Therein lies our nod towards American Exceptionalism and Optimism. When America realizes it has committed a mistake it does not cover it up, but rather it exposes that mistake with the hope that we can learn from our past so that the future will be better. That is different. That is American Optimism at its finest.

So on this July 4^th, I am proud to say that I do subscribe to American Exceptionalism. I do firmly believe that we are different from the rest of the world. There really is not any binding commonality that we have as Americans. We do not share a common nationality, ethnicity, race or religion.  We have differing views on politics, society, and economics. The only thing that binds us together into a cohesive unit as “Americans” is our core belief that tomorrow will always be better than today. We strongly believe that together we can make things better. In our hearts, we all share that core characteristic; OPTIMISM. Whatever hardships we, as Americans, face they can be defeated and we will prevail. I’m optimistic. I'm an American.