The United States has always been unusual in the world, in that we were founded on and are sustained by a belief in a central idea, rather than by ethnic or national characteristics. That idea was simply and beautifully put in the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
It is this statement, and that natural consequences of truly acting on it, that sets America apart from the world. Because of this belief, we spent the first century and a quarter of our existence fighting against imperial monarchy and our own internal evils of slavery and, as we grew strong, our own temptation to imperialism. Because of this belief, we spent our next century and a quarter fighting fascism and communism and our own internal evils of segregation by race and gender. Because of this belief, we now fight the jihadis – not for nothing are they sometimes called “Islamo-fascists”. Because of this belief, we will end terrorism, and we will eventually end the other tyrannies current in today’s world – even if it takes another century and a quarter. Because of this belief, we will hold together as a nation no matter how divided we appear if you only look at narrow electoral issues.
That said, it should be noted that, so far as I can tell from my reading of history, at no time during this process was more than 1/3 of the country devotedly committed – no matter the price – to ending monarchy, or fascism, or communism, or slavery, or segregation, or islamism. It appears that we break down consistently into 1/3 supporters individual liberty against any threat, about 1/4 either against our taking action or actively in support of the oppression we are trying to end, and the rest basically in the middle sometimes supporting and sometimes opposing American actions, based on the specifics of the particular case at hand. This was true in the Revolution; in the wars against piracy and mercantilism (in the form of impressments) in the early 1800s; in the expansion into the American West and the wars of Texas independence and against Mexico; in the Civil War; in our half-hearted attempt at imperialism in the late 1800s (both against the Amerind tribes in the West and against Spain); in WWI; in WWII; and in the Cold War. It’s true today.
And as long as we strive to live up to the idea so beautifully expressed by Jefferson – that all people are created equal; that we each, individually, have the right to live a life securely, happily, and meaningful to ourselves; that government exist to provide us with an environment in which we can strive to meet those needs – as long as we strive to live up to this ideal, I really don’t fear for my children’s futures. (And I can be very sanguine about letting the other 2/3 claim a part of the victory they opposed or did not support, once the victory is won. After all, none of us were Royalists, and none of us supported the Communists. Right?)
