At first glance, “A Strong National Identity” may appear out of place in a list of core values. However, all great nations have been built as citizens coalesced around the idea of national purpose. Devotion to “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England” transcended Shakespeare’s King Richard II, becoming a de facto national motto propelling the British Empire around the world. Awakened allegiance to the Motherland, a surprising development as shocking to Stalin as Hitler, was perhaps the overriding factor in determining Germany’s defeat on the eastern front. The American belief in Manifest Destiny — that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean — energized generations of pioneers. National unity unleashes enormous energy.
When nation-states develop singleness of purpose, great things are accomplished. President Kennedy’s 1961 pledge to put a man on the moon “before this decade is out” seemed preposterous to some. Martin Luther King’s 1963 ”I have a dream” speech seemed a pipe-dream, offered as it was in the face of virulent opposition and before the transforming Civil Rights legislation was even drafted. Plans to build the Panama Canal and Hoover Dam were derided as impossible folly, certain to fail. Today, the canal and dam provide vital service, Dr. King’s dream is becoming reality, and John Kennedy’s boast was fulfilled in “one giant leap for mankind,” all because Americans responded to the challenges with national pride and united effort.
Contemporary America is overflowing with self-doubt, an artificial contrivance brought on by a potent fifth column. Examination of the country’s shortcomings has always been allowed, if not welcomed. The great advance of civil rights is but one example of how the nation can face even enormous problems, discuss them, and work to fix them. However, the modern-day incessant bashing of America, emanating primarily from universities, newsrooms, and, incredibly, out of the mouths of national politicians, must stop. There is a reason America’s most pernicious critics live here; America is the best place on earth to be. We can and must reverse the trend, especially among elites in education, journalism, and politics, toward undermining all things American. This is not a call for jingoistic loyalty, nor do we advocate mass firings of Marxist professors or fellow traveler scribes. The simple truth is that professors should teach their young charges American virtues as well as vices. All Americans should demand that American accomplishments once again take a central place in the national dialogue.
A Strong National Identity is based on the fact that it’s great to be an American, a self-evident truth explaining the never-ending flow of immigrants from around the world who long to partake of the freedom, opportunity, and security America offers. A recent man-on-the-street interview captured the essence of well-placed American pride. An Italian immigrant was asked to state his nationality. Speaking with a thick accent, without hesitation the man said, “I used to be Italian. Now, I’m an American!” The great truth is that the newly naturalized citizen is just as much an American as was George Washington, a phenomenon not true in other countries; I may become a citizen of China, but I’ll never be Chinese. Ethnicity, religion, race, and country of origin, etc. do not determine citizenship in America. Devotion to a set of principles — those discussed in Core Values — and unswerving devotion to the nation does. To be an American is a great privilege, a fact that should be at the forefront of the national consciousness.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in Core Values