The Situation: An Exceptional Nation

The Situation on Thursday marked 100 days of the second Trump administration with 100 acts of malice and folly.

Today, I want to talk about American exceptionalism.

The United States is an exceptional nation.

It is exceptional because it was founded on universal ideas.

It is exceptional because it is a nation not built on ethnicity or blood and soil nationalism.

It is exceptional because America’s “Founders used checks and balances in government—to stave off tyranny.”

It is exceptional because those Founders created “a government of laws and not of men.”

It is exceptional because nobody in America is above the law.

It is exceptional because America is a society of immigrants, which welcomes the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free.

It is exceptional because America doesn’t lock people up or punish them without due process.

It is exceptional because even the political enemies of those in power have rights the government will respect.

It is exceptional because its government has lawyers who represent the people of the United States, not the people who happen to be in power at any given time.

It is exceptional because American military power abroad spreads and protects freedom, and does not exploit other countries for their riches and resources.

It is exceptional because America stands as a bulwark against authoritarianism.

It is exceptional because America built and defends an international order based on rules.

It is exceptional because it defends democracies overseas even when it has no obvious reason to do so.

It is exceptional because people facing down repressive regimes feel represented and protected by America.

It is exceptional because the rule of law domestically creates a stable and predictable environment for economic growth over time that is unique among big economies.

It is exceptional because it has no aristocratic class.

It is exceptional because America is a meritocracy in which anyone with hard work and persistence and talent can attain the heights of wealth and accomplishment.

It is exceptional because American politicians don’t use government to enrich themselves and their families, and they have to report and avoid conflicts of interest.

It is exceptional because America has courts that interpret the laws and, even though those courts have no power on their own to enforce their will, the executive branch follows the law as they pronounce it.

It is exceptional because it leads the world in science and technology and the development of new treatments and preventive measures for diseases.

It is exceptional because it has a truly free press that the president cannot harass with lawsuits or otherwise control. 

It is exceptional because it has academic freedom in its universities, which the government also cannot control.

It is exceptional because anyone can defend his or her rights with counsel of choice, and it has a legal profession that stands up to power on behalf of the powerless.

It is exceptional because its businesses do not need to curry favor with those in power in order to succeed.

It is exceptional because when it falls short of its ideals, people can freely criticize government, and demand better, without fear of retribution.

It is exceptional because all people have the right to protest and petition the government for redress of grievance without fear of imprisonment or deportation in retaliation for their expressed views.

It is exceptional because it is, for so many people around the world, that “shining city upon a hill.”

It is exceptional because “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”

It is exceptional because so many people want to come here from all over the world.

It is exceptional because American culture and inventions and products engage people worldwide.

It is exceptional because people admire America.

Right?

The Situation continues tomorrow.