I am firm believer in personal and national humility, and respect for other people and other nations. But here is the problem I see with the constant apologies to the rest of the world for America’s flaws and offenses, real or perceived, and the lack of willingness to stand up for American interests and the American value system — they set up the false perception that the United States of America is either no different than any other nation, or somehow is even worse.
Sadly, this constant beat-down of the United States — which is especially virulent in our nation’s high school and college classrooms — is having its desired effect on our citizens, many of whom have bought into this myth of moral equivalency.
No one would suggest the United States is perfect. But I categorically reject the argument that we are somehow the moral equivalent of other nations. We are not. We are a melting pot of ethnicities and faiths and backgrounds, but united around certain moral principles of self-government and liberty that are enshrined in the constitution and that have proven superior to other governing systems.
Moreover, our nation engages in more virtuous conduct than any other people. In many ways, we feed the world. In many ways, we fund the world through foreign aid and charity. We invest our blood to liberate nations, and then leave when they ask us to, and even let them criticize us as we leave. We risk our soldiers’ lives to avoid killing civilians. NO OTHER NATION acts so virtuously so often. The fact that we have occasionally violated our principles (which usually leads to arrest and prosecution of our own people), does not make us the equivalent of tyrants and terrorists.