by Brian Tobin

Created on: December 20, 2010

There is a unique American mission in the world today.  It is the same mission affirmed by John Winthrop, confirmed by Thomas Jefferson, and re-affirmed by Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.  America is to be a “City on a Hill” or an example and guiding light to the rest of the world.  Winthrop’s very Puritan notion is the basis for the revolutionary ideas of “all men are created equal” and “consent of the governed” which Jefferson made the foundations of The Declaration of Independence.  During our great Civil War, President Lincoln spoke of it in The Gettysburg Address as “a new birth of freedom.” In the aftermath of the great world wars of the 20th Century, President Kennedy re-affirmed it in his only inaugural address that America would “pay any price” and “bear any burden” in defense of these ideals.  All agreed that America is the last best hope of mankind.

Unfortunately in modern times this hope has from time to time been twisted into a muscular political persuasion.  President William McKinley spoke of “Christianizing and civilizing the heathen” in his defense of taking the Philippine Islands in 1898.  President Woodrow Wilson called for “making the world safe for democracy” in leading America into the Great War in 1917.  President George W. Bush called democracy “God’s gift to the world” in ordering an invasion of Iraq in 2003.  That America could forcefully export democracy has failed again and again in Southeast Asia, in Latin America, and in the Middle East.  And yet as a beacon, American democracy has enjoyed success especially in its triumphal conclusion of the Cold War (1945-1989).

Alexis de Tocqueville in his Democracy in America (1833) best expressed the moral suasion that defines America’s unique mission in the world, then and now.  He commented on how self-interest fuels a community interest and that the principle of “self-interest, rightly understood” works for the betterment of all. He also commented on the superiority of American women and how they enjoyed a social equality with men, if not then yet a political equality.  These two principles alone when fully exported have helped to promote the American dream in other countries.  Countries which oppress individual initiative and women’s rights are countries which remain backward, then and now. 

So, it is not by force of arms but rather by force of example that the unique American missions survives and thrives.  American leaders who best understand history best understand that copying is the sincerest form of flattery from other countries and that it is easier and far more fruitful to lead by example than to try to artificially enforce American standards on others.  China has moved to a market-based economy and democratic reforms, though slow, must surely follow.  Russia is attempting to move to a market-based economy and democratic reforms, though slow, must likewise surely follow.  The leadership of both countries knows that America is the last best hope of mankind and they hope to graft the best of America on to their own unique cultures. 

The unique American mission remains vibrant as long as Americans themselves cling to the dream.

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