From WallBuilders.com: This week we celebrate a uniquely American holiday – Thanksgiving. While thanksgiving celebrations occurred in North America as early as 1541, our current celebration is generally modeled after the one at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The Pilgrims, having survived their first winter (during which about half of them died), invited their local Indian [...]
Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving: Of Puritans, prayer, and the Capitol dome
November 24, 2011 By
From the Weekly Standard: FOUR THEMES FLOW TOGETHER AT one of the most remarkable points in American history–the evening when Abraham Lincoln for the last time proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving. It was April 11, 1865: two days after the Civil War ended with Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox; four days before the [...]
The first Presidential Thanksgiving Day Proclamation given in 1789 by George Washington
November 24, 2011 By
Thanks to our friends at IFI for bringing this to our attention. “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor — and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their [...]
Optimistic or Pessimistic about America? It will depend on the outcome of the 2012 election
November 13, 2011 By
From Dennis Prager: Commentary magazine asked 41 Americans to respond to the question: “Are you optimistic or pessimistic about America’s future?” The responses, including my own, appear in the current issue of Commentary. As we were limited to 500 words, I offer my response in edited and longer form. I am both optimistic and pessimistic [...]
The Civics Crisis: Both reformers and the educational establishment should focus on what makes America great
November 12, 2011 By
From City Journal: In late September, Occupy Wall Street—the movement of disaffected youth united, in the words of its organizers, against the “financial Gomorrah of America”—arrived in my adopted hometown of Boston. Police officers and reporters stood bemused as protesters set up a tent city of sorts in the heart of Boston’s financial district. While [...]
America should listen to Paul Ryan
October 31, 2011 By
From Star Parker: Last week, one of the Republican Party’s young stars, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc), spoke at the Heritage Foundation and gave forth his vision of America and what we need to do today to restore our vitality. Listening to Ryan, I’m reminded of the late, great Congressman Jack Kemp, for whom he once [...]
What is the American Idea?
October 30, 2011 By
From the Heritage Foundation (for more articles categorized “Learn About America” click here): What is the American idea? That all depends on whom you ask. According to President Barack Obama, it’s the notion that the federal government is the answer to America’s problems, and that through its intervention–by sheer force of spending–it can create a [...]
A response to Stephen Walt’s “The Myth of American Exceptionalism”
October 29, 2011 By
From National Review: America Abroad – Exceptional Since 1776. President Obama’s misunderstanding of American exceptionalism has found defenders among international-relations scholars and taken on an aura of legitimacy. Realist theorist Stephen Walt, in a recent article in Foreign Policy, exposes the “myths” of American exceptionalism. Walt echoes Obama’s view — namely that, since many nations [...]
Steve Jobs and American Exceptionalism
October 6, 2011 By
From the Heritage Foundation: Steve Jobs, who died yesterday at the too-young age of 56, was a living refutation of all that liberals constantly tell us about our country — that we’re falling behind others and live now in a “post-American world,” as one of Barack Obama’s favorite books puts it in its title. As [...]
2011: You Can’t Win for Losing
Charlie Sheen succeeded at turning his own debasement into a national pseudo-event by calling the very definition of losing “winning.” And that’s what 2011 was all about: pretending to be winning while really losing. Click here to read this Jonah Goldberg commentary in National Review OnLine.