We live in interesting times.
The United States of America, arguably the greatest nation on the face of the earth, is under attack. Not from any external enemy, though there are plenty of them, but from within, and from people who have benefitted the most simply by living in America. They attack her, saying she is not now, and never has been, great. They assail her institutions, criticizing and condemning those who guard and protect them. When asked why, they are nearly always incapable of articulating any coherent argument for attacking their benefactress, apart form vague references to the sins of her past.
Well. I am here to correct that by offering a series of rebuttals to their dubious claims with specific examples of why America is Great.
One of the first things that comes to mind when considering America’s greatness is freedom. The citizens of America enjoy a level of freedom unsurpassed by any other nation. The promise of freedom motivated many of our European ancestors to make the perilous journey across the Atlantic, leaving everything they knew behind them.
The Pilgrims, in particular, fled religious persecution in England to establish a colony in Massachusetts where they would be free to worship God as they chose. This thirst for freedom grew beyond religious expression and was passed down to the generations that followed.
Freedom was so important to America’s founding fathers that specific freedoms were enumerated and enshrined in our Constitution. Not that the government grants these freedoms, the framers of the Constitution understood that freedom comes from God, not from government, but that the government protects our freedoms and ensures that all citizens are able to exercise them.
The First Amendment alone guarantees the freedom to exercise one’s religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble peacefully, and the freedom to protest. That’s five constitutionally guaranteed freedoms in one amendment. It only gets better from there.
The Constitution of the United States of America guarantees that her citizens can keep and bear arms, that the government may not force any homeowner to allow soldiers to live in their homes (a huge problem in colonial America), and that the homes and property of her citizens are safe from unreasonable search and seizure. The police cannot enter your home or take your property without a warrant that is supported by an oath based on probable cause.
There’s more. No one can be held to answer for a capital crime without first being indicted by a Grand Jury. No one can be tried for the same crime twice. No one can be compelled to testify against themselves. No one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process. No one’s private property can be taken for public use without compensation. All of that is in just the Fifth Amendment.
Let’s keep going. The Sixth Amendment guarantees that everyone has a right to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, that they must be informed of criminal charges against them, that they are allowed to face their accusers, that those accusers must appear in court, and that they must be provided with legal counsel. The Seventh ensures that a lawsuit dealing with sums greater than twenty dollars must be heard by a jury, and that a judge cannot, by himself, overrule decisions by those juries. The Eighth protects us from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.
The most powerful amendments in the Bill of Rights may be the last two. In these, the Constitution states that the enumeration of these rights does not mean that there are no other rights that people possess (Ninth Amendment), and that any powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the individual states (Tenth Amendment). Think about that. Just because a right is not listed in the Constitution doesn’t mean you don’t have that right. And any governmental power not assigned to the federal government by the Constitution is reserved for the states.
This is a long post, so I’ll wrap up by repeating that no other nation on the face of the Earth guarantees so many freedoms to its citizens. Not one. So the next time you hear someone complaining about how America is not that great, ask them what country is better and why. Then ask them if they know how blessed they are to freely criticize the country that has sheltered them from the evils of the world.
Much more to come…..