In a Reason article, U.S.A,
U.S.A., U.S.A: Trump can't take
away America's greatness, Shikha Dalmia lamented America’s slippage in its
reputation in global polls under Donald Trump’s presidency. Nonetheless, she
writes:
But fear not. America will overcome this loss of respect. American
greatness doesn't stem from its politics or its political leaders so they can't
tarnish it much either, not even Trump. What has made America great is that it
has set the standards of excellence in literally every human endeavor for the
last 150 years.
While immodest, it is not an overstatement to suggest that when it
comes to the sciences, arts, technology, and business, America dominates the
world. And it does so not by imposing its will on others, but by excelling so
much that it forces other countries to compete on a higher plane. Quite simply,
America has made the world a better place to live.
America pioneered nearly every transformational technology of the
industrial age, beginning with Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb,
phonograph, and motion picture camera, and followed by Henry Ford's mass
production of automobiles.
Shikha goes on to list a myriad of “America’s”
achievements in all kinds of fields. Then:
But all of this is dwarfed by America's economic footprint on the
world. This country is quite literally the economic engine of the Earth.
Shikha also highlights America’s military might,
by far the greatest the world has ever seen, then concluding:
The American brand's reputation has been generated through vast,
far-reaching, and all-encompassing contributions to the advancement of
humanity. And it is profoundly at odds with Trump's empty braggadocio. Even
though America is stuck with Trump as its face for now, there is every reason
to believe that it'll regain its former glory once he passes from the scene.
The unseemly antics of an impetuous man, even one so visible and powerful,
can't make America small forever, after all.
Is her Optimism warranted? It depends.
There’s something missing from this article. An
answer to the question, “What lies behind all of this progress and greatness?”
Something not mentioned in the article--freedom based on individual
rights—specifically the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property put
in service to the pursuit of personal happiness.
America, in fact, did not create anything. Free
American’s did. It is in the area of liberty rights and limited
rights-protecting government that underpins America’s “all-encompassing
contributions to the advancement of humanity.” This freedom--this engine of progress, the free individual
pursuing her own self-interest--is threatened. Not by global polls, or anyone’s
opinion of us. It is threatened from within, by a collectivist movement,
Progressivism, and its dominant political expression, the Democratic Party,
that repudiates the core
principles that America stands
for, and that actually made America great. We should worry about the real
threats.
Related Reading:
The
Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right
to Liberty--Timothy Sandefur
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