American Exceptionalism (read: betterness)

Bob Krumm has a great post ("this is the post where you get to call me . . .")

"America and its allies are superior. (Don’t think too hard on it; it’s simple math after all. There are only three options in any comparison equation: greater than, less than, or equal to–and argument in favor of the latter two is specious at best and treasonous at worst.)

Now that doesn’t necessarily make us right. That’s a fair (I would say wrong, but still fair) argument to make. But to say that we are wrong does not negate the fact that we are better. While I don’t denigrate those fifteen British sailors for their lack of a “stiff upper lip” under unimaginable duress, I do denigrate any of their countrymen–and ours too–who from safe perches, espouse that they had it coming to them because they were British.

For there is nothing, nothing at all about Iran, that should ever make us want to prostrate ourselves before them."

America is exceptional. Multiculturalism is asinine. And the reason America is exceptional is because it is a country established upon Judeo-Christian ideas/philosophy/principles. And that is the rub for Liberals.

While this isn't exactly applicable, it occurred to me that Jesus spoke about the "overflow of the heart" (Mt. 12:33-35) and other places in the Bible reference the heart as the "wellspring of life" (Prov. 4:23). I would posit that America's exceptionalism is the "fruit" of America's founding principles. If one acknowledges that America's founding principles are Judeo-Christian, it's hard to concede that America's record is commendable. That, in my estimation, is why an assertion of American Exceptionalism pains the Left.

Update: At the risk of stepping on some more toes (but hey, Bob started it!) I was corresponding with a fellow Conservative who questions my assertion that America's greatness is related to Judeo-Christian principles (he thinks the roots of our greatness are principles of common law).

I kind of think the real roots are in the Protestant Reformation, frankly. The Protestant Reformation was a positive step in a cultural evolution and America was the end product. Especially way back when, the Catholic Church was as close to a state religion as you could get. And while I would say that common law is certainly a characteristic of english-speaking countries, it is more of a by-product than a cause.

In my estimation, Judeo-Christian thought is the fertile ground for a system of self-gov't and liberty (and, yes, tolerance).