An American Optimism

An Ongoing Love Affair With The US of A

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This time last year I wrote a love letter to America. In it, I laid out the various things my country has helped to build. From technology to culture and beyond. Following a high of patriotism immediately post-9/11, there was most certainly a lull in American Exceptionalism in people’s hearts across what was the formative years of my life. As a result, many in my generation are skeptical at best and murderously resentful at worst of the American Experiment.

Growing up, I always felt squarely in the nuanced middle. I was more than happy to acknowledge the failings of the country, from slavery to Vietnam and on and on. However, it never seemed an adequate body of evidence to convict the country as being fundamentally evil. Unfortunately, I find everything torn down the middle nowadays seemingly with an inability to accept nuance and instead get pushed to the fringes of extremism on either side of the spectrum. The same is true of people’s sentiment regarding the United States.

In particular, this deepening extremism of national frustration feels directly correlated to presidential politics and the rise of Donald Trump. Now, I’m a registered Republican who has never (and will never) vote for Donald Trump. But partisan politics has never appealed to me anyways, so it’s certainly not enough to make me hate my country. But for many liberals, it seems like more than enough.

So after enjoying America’s 249th birthday yesterday, blowing stuff up and listening to Toby Keith, I found myself late at night reflecting. What is it that has kept me squarely committed to a belief in the potential of the United States of America?

Coincidentally, I’ve also binged four seasons of The Chosen over the last few weeks. If you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it. It’s the story of those chosen to follow Jesus Christ during his mortal ministry. In it, there is so much powerful exploration of redemption. The ability for someone who is truly flawed and broken to be remade.

Applying that same framework to the US, I realized that what I love about the US is that it is structurally redemptive.

When you compare it to the reigning empires throughout history, whether it’s Rome, Imperial China, the British Empire, the Mongols, Ottoman Turkey, the USSR, you see a historical track record defined by conquest, slavery, repression, and elite self-interest. Now, my liberal friends seem like they would quickly lump us in. “Yup, that sounds like us.”

But at its core, the American Experiment was built on a foundation of Enlightenment ideals. Liberty, individual rights, consent of the governed. The initial application of these rights may have been imperfect by a long shot. But that was the starting point. Something markedly different than everything that had come before.

Most importantly, in my mind, the Constitution established a framework for self-correction through protest, reform and amendments. And it worked over and over again. Through abolition, civil rights, and suffrage.

Name another nation that has managed to balance global power where it COULD do whatever it wanted, but it DIDN’T. Instead, the legacy of the United States has remained one of self-criticism.

From surviving a civil war to end slavery to passing civil rights legislation in direct response to civilian protest to maintaining protections for free speech, investigative journalism, and grassroots activism. No system is perfect, but America remains one of the few countries where people can legally protest, sue the government (and win), vote leaders out, and run for office themselves.

The counter case is extensive and played out in droves every day on social media. American politics have become increasingly less representative, monied interests more and more powerful, and some of our baser instincts and biases as humans are being given an ever more powerful megaphone.

But our present failings are added to the laundry list of other weaknesses. There is still blood being shed that will ultimately be the responsibility of the United States. And it will be alongside infamous company in line with slavery, segregation, Native American genocide and land theft, foreign coups, military interventions, and economic exploitation.

These are not small sins. And they cannot be hand-waved. But they do not make the US uniquely evil. They make it typical for a great power. Instead, what arguably makes America better than the empires that have gone before is its willingness to admit these sins (eventually), empower factions and movements in redressing them, and works to evolve, albeit slowly and unevenly. But often the curve of American history bends toward broader inclusion and accountability.

We are so far from perfect. But similar to what I take away from watching the journey of those who would follow Jesus Christ; it is not about perfection. It is about striving. Seeking to become what you currently are not.

The US is not innocent. And it has a lot to fix. Similarly, there is no shortage of active damages being done right now, today, this moment, that need to be addressed. But the same has been true of every great power. The question is: What does it do with its power? Does it aspire to good? Does it allow internal reform? Does it build systems others want to emulate or flee?

Judged by those standards, a strong case can be made that the US is not just a relatively good country, but one of the most fundamentally good great powers the world has ever seen, precisely because it keeps wrestling with its own sins.

When I read stats like only 32% of Democrats are proud to be American, it makes me sad. Not ashamed. Not angry. Just sad. Because I see a perpetually evolving engine that, at its best, can produce world-shaping technology, medicine, culture, and spirit. But the 68% who are ashamed of their country can’t see that.

But I don’t feel a partisan need to beat people over the head with what I believe any more than I feel a violent need to convince people of my religion. But similar to my religion, I want people to feel what I feel because it offers an intensely hopeful inspiration for me to hang on to. There is plenty to do but we CAN do it.

Reflecting on what this means for what we build and invest in, it comes back to the core anchoring need to be hopeful. To hope for a better world and then seek to leverage your faculties to make it a reality.

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