February 23, 2024

The question is one that every American military member has to literally ask himself or herself when signing up. Is America still worth fighting for?

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Increasingly, this question hits closer to home for Americans who still believe in the idea of American exceptionalism, that this country’s unique system of government, combined with God-given freedoms protected by nothing more than the parchment of the Constitution and the deep commitment of Americans themselves, is the one exception in a world otherwise ruled by kings, fascists, tyrants, elitist oligarchs, and dictators. They believe that America is the only thing in the world that stands between tyranny and basic universal human dignity.

Throughout its relatively short history, America has been under attack, yet despite that it has not only risen to be the world’s most dominant superpower, but thanks to the strength of its people, their enterprise and innovation, it has changed the world in countless ways.

The country’s Founders had to put their lives on the line, and in many cases sacrificed them, to create a nation committed to the “ideals of liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship,” to create a new political order, according to the American Revolution Institute.

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America as Founded Unleashed Human Potential

By giving the people power and freedom, the American system unleashed human potential. While the Founders had no idea at the time what would become of their newborn nation, the words of their founding documents indicate that they saw limitless possibilities, and for that reason, their venture was worth fighting for.

On April 12, 1861, the ties that loosely held the young nation together snapped when the Confederate states of the South fired the first shots of the Civil War on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The bloody war tore the country apart and was only resolved four years later, preserving the Union at a cost of 800,000 lives on both sides.

Politically, Americans have fought, oftentimes bitterly, over issues and matters that would come to shape the country, leading to new amendments to the Constitution, like the 13th Amendment that enshrined an end to slavery, and the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

To be sure, the nation itself may have not started out perfect, but its system allowed for a people to aspire to something greater and over time realize some of that greatness.

Through the First World War, the Great Depression and then into World War II, the American people had come to realize that what this country built was so exceptional that it was vital to humankind. The adversity faced by generations, through sacrifice, war and turmoil was the price to be paid for something bigger.