American-Exceptionalism-10.5x10-PRINT-10.5 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 27
Americans
know that strong leaders don’t
build followers; they build the next generation of
strong leaders. A leader's job is to bring out the
best in people, motivate them to exceed their
own expectations, and inspire them to reach
greater heights.
America’s founding leaders strived for excellence
to create a free nation with a spirit of independence
and a system of self-governance. They saw beyond
narrow interests and focused on the greater goal.
This is how America was born. A government by,
for, and of the people means that the people who
lead it are the people themselves. That was the
revolutionary genius of the Founding Fathers.
Certainly, they were skeptical about human
nature. The Founding Fathers, James Madison,
Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, who
wrote The Federalist Papers, were under no
illusions about their fellow man. They read deeply
into history and scripture and understood that
mankind is fundamentally flawed — ambitious,
acquisitive, and avaricious.
Our Constitution is written in such a way that
accounts for the proper understanding of human
nature with the balance of power built into our
political system. For example, the three branches
of government (legislative, executive, and
judicial) were designed to check power, and the
supreme law of the land designates specifically
which rights belong to the federal government,
with all others reserved for the states, where We
The People take leadership of issues touching
them most closely.
Despite the Founders’ skepticism about human
nature, they also believed man must be free to
make his own decisions. They recognized that
since man was created in God’s image, and
therefore all men are created equal, they alone
are sovereign over their own earthly affairs. No
man, king or tyrant, is superior to others by virtue
of his birth or wealth, and no one has the right to
stand above another. Americans must lead
themselves.
The Founders understood what this new freedom
demanded — liberated from the bondage of
tyranny, men were now accountable to
themselves and their neighbors. It was the
responsibility of each individual to improve their
own condition and that of their families, to better
their communities, and to advance the cause of
the country.
It is because we Americans are bred to govern
ourselves that our country has produced so many
leaders who have inspired the world with their
ideals of freedom and self-government.
From President George Washington, who led the
battle for freedom that changed the course of
history, and President John F. Kennedy, who
inspired his fellow Americans to “ask not what
your country can do for you, but what you can do
for your country,” to President Ronald Reagan,
who was an uncompromising warrior against
communism, and President Donald Trump, who
championed the cause of freedom and peace, the
essential message is the same: it is up to the
collective of individuals working together, to take
responsibility for our God-given freedom and to
lead others to do the same.
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