In the 247 years and 10 months since independence was first declared, millions of Americans, both alive now and long dead, have declared that America is the greatest nation in the world, the greatest nation to ever exist, and that no nation will ever surpass her.
However, within recent years many people have turned away from patriotism and pride in our nation. Polls indicated that, in 2001, 87% of Americans were very or extremely proud of their nation. Within 22 years, only 39% of Americans are “extremely proud” of this nation, and 28% are “very proud” of America- a total of 67%. Many of the 33% point out that America is far from a perfect place, that issues long unsolved still burden the nation, and many do not believe that the United States will improve. Much of this stems from the fact that so many people do not realize the immense contributions that America has made to the world, and the unparalleled strength of our own nation at home and abroad. Here follow only a few of the many reasons why America has no equal in its greatness.
Global Contributions
From its founding, America has defended the nations of the world from imperialism and tyranny. The very founding of America proved to the world that not even a global empire such as the British could oppress a people forever, and the American Revolution has been an icon for dozens of revolutions since.
Were not the fires of revolution in France kindled by the revelation that all men are created equal? Among the many nations of Latin America, were not the cries for liberty and democracy inspired by the success of another revolt against an imperial power? Did not the Irish rebels of 1798 look to France and America for democracy? And in 1848, did not the revolutionaries of Germany demand representation in the same fashion as America? And when these revolutions failed, did not the people who still loved freedom come to America, where the first thing they saw was Lady Liberty in the harbor?
America is capable, beyond any other nation, of inspiring others throughout the world, beyond oceans and across borders, to take up arms for their freedom, to question ancient regimes of tyranny and slavery, and to realize that it is the natural right of man to be free. America proved that a free democracy could work in a society and a nation, and it proved that it could last. That alone is perhaps the greatest accomplishment any nation could hope for. However, America’s accomplishments are not limited to what it has inspired others to do- America has directly freed and brought democracy to millions.
America’s own contributions to the liberty of the world cannot be understated, and will be studied for as long as humanity lives. The forces of the United States in 1865 brought freedom to four million slaves, held in captivity by traitors and seditionists. In 1898 America intervened to free the people of Cuba from the cruelty of the Spanish colonial regime that had suppressed their calls for freedom with horrific crimes.
Beyond that, America even set the Philippine Islands on their path to democracy, and had more influence on the Philippines in 50 years than the Spanish in 230. In 1917 America assisted to free the German people from the rule of the Kaiser, and in the ensuing peace conference intervened to free Poland from the clutch of the Russian, Austrian, and German emperors. In the second World War, America intervened again to defeat Hirohito and the dictators Hitler and Mussolini, and liberate the peoples of Italy, Germany, and Japan from the oppression of their rulers. When Britain stood alone against the Nazi menace, America supplied her people with all they needed to continue the fight against the enemies of democracy.
After the war, America once again fought against a tyrannical enemy of freedom – communism. For 46 years America defended the free world against the Soviet Union and their relentless attack on the foundations of society itself, until the very “proletariat” that the Soviets claimed to be “liberating” from freedom rejected them, and the Soviet Union fell.
However, even then America’s fight has not been finished. As the leader of the free world, America decided that never again could tyrants be allowed to thrive, and that liberty must be perpetually guarded from tyranny, so that it may thrive. To this end, for 33 more years after the Soviet Collapse, America has guarded democracy across continents from the last holdouts of backwards despotism and dictatorship- even within these nations, those who resist chant American slogans and look to America as a model of a free republic.
From Tokyo to Warsaw and from London to Buenos Aires, all the peoples of the world who love democracy and liberty may rest easy knowing that America will always guard their freedom, while the enemies of liberty may never rest, as they know that Americans have already done away with most of their kind. We shall never stop the fight, because the American nation was brought unto this earth by our forefathers for a purpose- to do away with tyranny and provide the world a new role model; a new kind of nation.
A New Kind of Nation
The United States, at its founding, promised to be the first independent nation of its kind among the entire Western word- a new form of nation where the fates of men were not bound to blood, nobility, or social connections, where everyone would be judged according to his abilities, not his birth. Since that idealistic foundation, this promise has only been expanded and further realized- in America, unlike the monarchies and feudal societies of the ancient regimes of Europe, the success or failure of a man in life rests not upon the circumstances of his birth and the name he carries, but primarily upon his own shoulders- his own strength of body and mind determine what his lot will be. This concept of a meritocratic society, unique in its time, America proved it could work. And it could not have spread to the world without America.
Another institution that made America a new kind of nation, and which could not have spread without the United States, was the very concept of true democracy itself that nearly all the peoples of the world hold dear. When America was first founded, no other nation was so bold as to proclaim that it was self-evident that all men were created equal. No other nation had such a democracy as America- even the only major nation in Europe to hold elections, Poland, had only a limited franchise allowed exclusively to noblemen. The merchant “republics” of Italy and the German territories abhorred true democracy- they dreaded American “populism” coming to their cities where a few nobles held all power in an ineffectual “democracy”. America was a truly unique nation, a new nation of a kind that the nobles of Europe hated, feared, and dreaded, for they knew that they could not repress their own people forever if a beacon of liberty existed just beyond the sea.
However, the greatest way in which America is unique to this very day is the idea that anyone, no matter their race or origin, may be an American. Without the English people, there is no England; without the French, no France; and there cannot be a Germany or Poland with no Germans or Poles. However, anyone can be an American, whether from China or India, Africa or Europe, or any nation on the globe for that matter.
In fact, many of the most patriotic, proud Americans to live in this nation are those who came to America escaping the oppression of tyrannical regimes in their own homes. This is because the ideas upon which America is founded are universal- a man from England can conceive of the idea of freedom just as well as a man from Angola or Iran. While other nations are founded upon a group of people, America is founded upon the basic human desire to be free- and this is equally applicable to all humans. The story and struggle of America are universal: What people has never taken up arms against tyranny? What nation has never yearned to break free from the yoke of occupation and slavery? It is this that makes America unique compared to every other nation to ever exist- To be a true American is not dictated by birth or ancestry alone.
America Will Not Fall
It has been often said of nations that they all come to an end, that no nation will last forever and that that is unchangeable and eternal. Furthermore, many state that America is no exception, and that one day it will all come to an end. This is simply untrue. The great empires of the past fell because they were based on a people – Rome could not exist without the Romans, nor could any other empire exist without the ethnicity central to it.
America is different. America is built not on a race, not on some classification of people based on their birth. America is an idea, a nation built on the natural human desire to break free from the chains of slavery, tyranny, and despotism. For this reason alone America cannot fall, for to destroy America would be to change human nature, as America lives on as long as man desires freedom No army of any nation, no dictator’s secret police, and no king’s guard can stamp out human nature itself. The Soviet Union attempted this, and failed- just as the Nazis before them, and the Kaiser before them, the Spanish before them, and the British before them. No enemy of America has ever conquered this nation because no enemy can ever destroy the great ideas upon which this country was founded, and for which generation after generation of American men have fought and died for.
The men who fight and die are another reason America will not fall. The army of the Soviets fought because a commissar would shoot them in the back of the head if they did not, the army of the Nazis because they desired revenge on those they believed wronged them, the armies of the British for some king who would never die for them. The US Armed Forces fight not for any of these reasons, but because the brave men who volunteer love their nation, love freedom, and know that they will fight to hold the torch of liberty to all dark corners of the world. It is for this reason that, while the atrocities of the British in America, India, and the nations of Africa are well known, while the infamy of the Nazi army lives on even today, and while the Red Army’s many, well-documented crimes still haunt the territories they once pillaged throughout the east of Europe, the American army holds a special place in the hearts of millions, for they know that where the Stars and Stripes fly, hope lives on.
American soldiers are not perfect – they are subject to disciplinary problems and occasionally commit war crimes. However, the other armies of the world are much more likely to commit atrocities and families are much more likely to get justice against someone who abuses his position in the American army, as the vast majority of American servicemen understand that our army exists to liberate nations from their burdens, not their valuables, a purpose that the armies of other nations lack. This does not make us invincible- American armies have lost battles and conflicts. American troops have been battered, broken, and shattered. However, they have always dragged themselves back into the fray and battled on. With access to such a determined military, few nations could manage to fall.
America Will Always Improve
America today is not the country it was the day our Declaration of Independence was signed- many things have changed, almost all for the better. One no longer has to own land to vote, minorities are no longer segregated or enslaved, and the citizens of this nation are significantly better off than they were 200 years ago. Reform and progress have always been accomplished in America, whether it be in our citizens’ morality or in our laws.
No other nation has so constantly improved – Even France and Britain, thought of as model democracies, have in the past backslid into dictatorships and monarchies, France as recently as 1871 or arguably the 1940s. Never has American democracy been toppled and never have the people of America let go of their sacred freedoms. Thus, as recent history has always progressed alongside America, it is likely that the United States will continue to improve. More than likely, the character of the American people guarantees that America will always improve- Americans are some of the most innovative people on the planet, and new theories, discoveries, and propositions are constantly made, in the fields of government and science.
American scientific innovation is unparalleled throughout the world. Every day, millions of scientists go to work in our nation and every day some new discovery is made, be it in medicine, rocketry, chemistry, biology, warfare, physics, agriculture, manufacturing, economics, engineering, or anything which is studied. Was it not in America that Henry Ford introduced mass-production methods that revolutionized manufacturing and improved the lives of billions? Is it not America that constantly improves its agricultural practices so millions more can rest with full stomachs? Is it not the American flag that lies on the moon, taken in an American rocket by American men? Was it not in America that the entire human genome was mapped? And is it not America that has weaponry many times more sophisticated than all our opponents? Just over a year ago, the first successful nuclear fusion experiment was conducted in California. If America has done all of these things, what are the odds that we can do more? Our innovation is unparalleled, beyond anything others can accomplish- much of what they do accomplish is even based off our research.
Conclusions
America is a nation of an illustrious past, outshining all the accomplishments of nations that have lasted for thousands of years in only 200. America has fought for noble causes in times when lesser nations squabbled over petty feuds. America has guarded liberty and democracy in the darkest times of humanity, and has ensured that the torch of freedom continues to burn even when it was close to extinguished everywhere else. This past alone ought to make anyone proud.
In the present, America continues to stand for freedom, and we have drawn a line that the forces of evil will never cross. Our nation is a hub of scientific innovation unheard of throughout history and around the world, and every day new discoveries are made, new marvels of engineering and science are constructed, and American doctors, scientists, engineers, and professors all bring development and science to places long exploited and bypassed by progress. This alone ought to make anyone proud of his country.
However, that is not all. Even greater than America’s past and present are its future- and America’s future is bright. Our nation, which has for so long steadily improved will continue to improve, and her citizens know that their children and grandchildren will live good lives. Why be proud of America? America is the first, last, and best hope for a free world and a nation unlike any other, a nation of hope and a nation destined to change the world.
