The American Ideal

   Tetris on Oct 8 12:45:09

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**The American Ideal**

There has been much discussion recently about the importance of knowing our history and seeing ourselves as part of something.

All too often, this is merely a vehicle for highlighting the negatives, hypocrisies, betrayals, failures, shortcomings and evils of mankind.

While it is essential to know real history, with all its warts and graphic stench, it is equally essential to view these as a part of a much bigger and more beautiful whole.

The good without the bad is just as much propaganda as is the reverse. It seems likely that people who know where they come from, and how they got there, will be more successful by learning from those lessons of history, than those who float unknowing in the abreviated reality of now.

In the era of Enlightenment, new thoughts and philosophies that proved essential to the framework of The American Ideal were generated by people like John Locke. His unique ideas about free agency and innate individual worth eventually changed the way people fundamentally thought about themselves. This belief in self with innate rights was built into the founding of a new country.

The American Ideal is both an aspiration and a goal. It is a framework of essential values and priorities that protect human rights as individual and natural. These values include empathy, generosity, courage, service, and love. This framework prioritizes reason, common-sense, blind justice equally applied and a moral opposition to evil.

It is the culmination of the generational problem-solving of learning and wisdom from past civilizations intwined with creative inspiration from God that has led to a structure that is both flexible and strong. That structure is the Constitution of the United States.

Through The American Ideal, we achieve broad societal success through fostering individual talents and interests that are voluntarily exchanged in cooperative and competitive efforts in a free and liberal society. The positive results for the greatest number of people by using this framework and its Constitutional structure have been unparalleled in written history. Not following these principles leads to subjugation and corruption.

Gleaming bright, The American Ideal resulted in the founding of a new and distinct form of government...a democratic republic.

The first of a new society, intentionally created by the inspired collaborative minds of men and women, choosing for themselves the best parts of some of the most successful societies of history. These foundational ideas have been shared across the globe. However, they only work as often as they are equally applied to all individuals and voluntarily adopted by their societies.

But this liberty of a democratic republic is only ours "if we can keep it," Benjamin Franklin warned. But how can we possibly keep something that is no longer valued or understood? When the framework itself is called a lie because the results are not instantaneous or perfect?

Do we live in a society so unmoored from history, principles, wisdom or reason that we willingly choose the safety of enslavement over the responsibility of liberty? Or that we choose complete destruction if we cannot achieve perfection?

In our increasingly chaotic world, too many rely on others to feel safe, tell them what to think or how they should feel. The American Ideal contrasts this by requiring you to do, be, think and feel for yourself.

Let us relearn its history and important fundamentals that create liberty once again. Let us recenter, and revive this essential framework and remind our neighbors, children and friends why The American Ideal is not outdated, confining or evil, but more essential than ever.

Give us Liberty!

Tags: American Ideal constitution founding USA

#1

Chris Price on Oct 8, 2023 12:49 PM
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Well stated! While it may be challenging to fully express The American Ideal in it's richness and merit, this is a good start. Like a gem with many facets, each catching someone's attention through a glint of revelation based on the viewers POV.

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#2

Carl Milsted, Jr on Oct 10, 2023 11:43 AM
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In the past, the schools sugar coated our history in order to inspire patriotism. Today, they do the opposite: sugar coat those who opposed the U.S. and its predecessor colonies.

History has disturbing parts for all peoples. To tell U.S. history by itself leads to judging our ancestors by modern standards. Need to judge our ancestors by their contemporaries.

For example, slavery was the norm most places before machines took over the jobs of most slaves. But if we teach just U.S. history warts and all, this is not apparent. We need to teach the history of other societies, warts and all.

Step one: all Red states should add world history classes to the options for teaching certificate renewal. And remove a bunch of the baloney options.

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#3

Tetris on Oct 11, 2023 6:13 PM
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in response to comment_69_1

Thank you!! Yes, extremely hard to capture, but we have got to try!

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#4

Tetris on Oct 11, 2023 6:18 PM
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in response to comment_69_2

I completely agree with that. We can too easily get caught up in a bubble of only recent history and like you say, get caught in the trap of judging the past with only the context and attitudes of the present.

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#5

Stephen J. Douglass on Oct 26, 2023 11:19 AM
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Apologies. I've been missing these, Tetris. Good stuff.

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