"Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil;
in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Common Sense, 1776

Preface

Return to Common Sense

Section: Welcome – Preface 

“I am proud to be an American, and proud of American history and accomplishments!”

“The position of the Americans is quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one.” Alexis de Tocqueville.

 

Philosophy (Background, Issues, Objectives):

As far as I am concerned, the USA is the best country in the world. I am proud of its history, and what it has accomplished. I do recognize that this country is not perfect, since nothing is in this world. I know that history records mistakes that have been made, and things could have been done differently (with their own unforeseen consequences). However I reject the apologists who use hindsight to evaluate history without historical context which only creates unjustified guilt and embarrassment.

 

The modern American Dream is a simple promise of opportunity: Hard work can earn a good life, a good job with decent pay and security, a secure retirement, and an affordable education for the kids. The promise always exceeds the performance, especially with regard to racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants and women. A broad middle class and a broadly shared prosperity provides the possibility of a way up.

 

American people are basically good, moral, individualists who also are proud of this country. Through history American intentions were good, but some of the results were not what was expected. Americans also recognize that our brand of government is not perfect, but better than the alternatives. Our history records that our government was created as a reaction to poor English governance, and was crafted as a new form of government different than any other that existed as the time. Our Founders used common sense and a moral clarity to create this new form of government.

 

The most visible measure of American Exceptionalism and success is the continued press of immigration. Further proof is provided by the international trend towards multi-party democracies across the globe. Continued foreign investment in our nation is another indirect indicator of confidence and approval of the American dream.

 

In my opinion this country is losing its moral clarity and common sense approach to governing, and needs to return to these fundamental principles in both domestic and foreign policies.

 

Principles:

Who am I?

I reject the use of labels, since they shoehorn people into inconvenient stereotypes that frequently mask important nuances.

 

Recommendations:

Review each of the Return to Common Sense issue areas:

Read these twenty selected sites daily to understand the source of many of the ideas:

Read my “Views on the News” and my “Musings on the Week” every week:

 

References:

“America – The Last Best Hope Volume I” by William J. Bennett published by Thomas Nelson, 2006.

“America – The Last Best Hope Volume II” by William J. Bennett published by Thomas Nelson, 2007.

 “What’s Right About America” by Herman Cain dated August 3, 2005 published at http://www.hermancain.com/news/press-opinion-080305.asp .

“Who Believes in American Exceptionalism?” by Dennis Prager dated November 1, 2005 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=20037 .

“What’s Great About America” by Dinesh D’Souza dated February 23, 2006 published by The Heritage Foundation at http://www.heritage.org/Research/PoliticalPhilosophy/upload/94355_1.pdf .

“American Exceptionalism” by James Q. Wilson dated October 2, 2006 published by The American Spectator on http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10421 .

“Rediscovering American Values this Christmas” by Newt Gingrich dated December 22, 2006 published by Human Events Online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18628 .

“I Remember” by Fred Thompson dated May 25, 2007 published by Town Hall at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/FredThompson/2007/05/25/i_remember .

“The American Dream” by Carolyn Hileman dated August 9, 2007 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/19876 .

“Bet on America” by Joel Achenbach dated September 2, 2007 published by Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083101468_pf.html .

“What’s wrong with America?” by Carolyn Hileman dated November 3, 2007 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/20804 .

“America’s Standing in the World” by Alan Caruba dated November 3, 2007 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/21119 .

“Resisting the smear of a ‘tainted legacy’” by Michael Medved dated December 5, 2007 published by Town Hall at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/12/05/resisting_the_smear_of_a_tainted_legacy .

“Understanding American Exceptionalism” by Katlyn Bowman dated April 28, 2008 published by The American Magazine at http://www.american.com/archive/2008/april-04-08/understanding-american-exceptionalism .

“Stop Apologizing for Being an American” by John Hawkins dated May 2, 2008 published by Town Hall at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2008/05/02/stop_apologizing_for_being_an_american .

“An American in Washington” by Jeffrey Lord dated June 24, 2008 published by The American Spectator at http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13414 .

“The American Dream is Eroding Away” by David Coughlin dated May 8, 2009 published by American Daily at http://americandaily.com/index.php/site/comments/the_american_dream_is_eroding_away/

 “STILL a Nationalist?” by J.D. Longstreet dated April 14, 2010 published by American Daily at http://americandaily.com/index.php/article/3354 .

“Polls on Patriotism and Military Service” by Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg dated June 2010 published by American Enterprise Institute at http://www.aei.org/docLib/PollsPatriotismMilitaryService2010.pdf .

“A movement to reclaim the American Dream” by Katrina vanden Heuvel dated September 27, 2011 published by The Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-movement-to-reclaim-the-american-dream/2011/09/26/gIQApFfz1K_story.html .

“We Americans… Must be Americans” by Robert B. Charles dated May 26, 2014 published by American Thinker at http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/05/we_americans__must_be_americans.html .

“The Need for an American National Identity” by Aryeh Spero dated September 19, 2017 published by The American Spectator at https://spectator.org/the-need-for-an-american-national-identity/ .