Sobering Post Holiday Thought: Obama's Success in Weakening Americans Belief in Exceptionalism

If Americans end up thinking we are no better than the rest of the world, we soon will be!

You look around the world at all the trouble: invasions, wars, tyranny and disasters of every sort both man made and natural and thank God you live in America where we enjoy such freedom and a high standard of living and relative social calm. Americans used to think we were exceptional and our national Independence Day is a time to reflect on the uniqueness of the American experiment. Perhaps not so much anymore.

President Reagan described America as that "shining city on a hill," a beacon of freedom and hope to the rest of the world. It's no surprise to learn that most liberals reject Reagan's view and prefer instead to see only injustice and greed where Reagan saw hope, opportunity and freedom. Obama embodies the idea that America is not so great. He's said as much. In 2009 in France he said "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." In other words, America is no better than any other country. As President he's acted in a similar vein eschewing America's traditional role in global leadership. The resulting mess in world affairs speaks for itself.

A recent Pew Survey found 60% of liberals are not proud of America. What is truly surprising is the number of non Obama voters who think the country is no longer #1.

Obama may view his success in cutting America down to size as one of his greatest achievements even though he's not likely to say so. But the consequences will be profound. An America that loses sight of it's vision for a better world is an America that will stand by and do little while the world slips closer to the dark abyss of violence we already see encroaching. For the rest of the world that often complained of America's arrogance, just imagine their screams when we are no longer able to come and save them next time they're in trouble.

The only bright picture here is that we had this kind of dip in national outlook during the Carter years. But Carter served only one term and a recent Quinnipiac  Poll finds Obama to be an even worse President than Carter. The worst of the modern era. It took a Reagan to clean up the mess Carter left behind after only four years and it will take another giant to clean up this mess. Sadly, giants are in short supply while pygmies are not!