Every Thanksgiving you can expect a revisionist history lesson from some factions of the Left regarding what they believe to be the “truth” about the holiday, and I can’t help but view that as a distraction. One particular case that comes to mind was from now-fired MSNBC host Melissa Harris Perry, who decided to “celebrate” Thanksgiving by informing her viewers that the holiday was a “historic reality of how European settlers brought violence, disease and land theft to the indigenous peoples who were already in this land long before it was discovered.”
I can only assume Perry’s message is an attempt to guilt trip Americans out of celebrating a holiday that brings American families together, or push a narrative that “America was never great” (which is often heard at far-left protests). Regardless, her history is dead wrong, and not only that, American greatness is worth being thankful for.
The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
A basic right as simple as freedom of speech is something we take for granted in America – and a rarity in the rest of the world. It’s clear from the rest of the world that without some equivalent of a First Amendment, what’s deemed “acceptable” speech is determined by whoever is in power. In the religious theocracies in the Middle East, it’s any speech that contradicts Islam that’s forbidden. In most first world countries, it’s the hypersensitive politically correct types who eventually get their way if left unchecked.
The Second Amendment
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
How could the Second Amendment not make this list? The 27 words that compose the Second Amendment are arguably the most controversial in the entire Constitution, but also the most important alongside the First Amendment. In fact, one could argue that the Second is necessary to protect the First.
Despite the liberal rhetoric, America does not have some kind of unique gun violence problem. America has 4.4 percent of the world’s population, and 3.7 percent of the world’s firearm homicides. In other words, Americans are underrepresented when it comes to our share of global gun violence (relative to population), and that’s despite (though many would argue “because”) 40% of the world’s firearms are in America.
Economic Freedom
Despite all the onerous regulations and taxes our government does impose, we’re still getting a better deal than the rest of the world. The United States was named the most competitive economy in the world for the first time in 2018, thanks in part to Trump’s tax cuts and massive cuts to regulation. Other studies of economic freedom by the Heritage Foundation and Frasier Institute routinely find the US to be in the top 10 most economically free countries in the world, and with that comes many benefits, including stronger economies, wealthier citizens, economic empowerment for women, among others. According to one study, the average poor American has more living space than the average middle-class European.
More important however is the concept of the American Dream. While there’s no official definition, people generally mean the ability to rise to the top of the economic ladder wherever you began. I’ve also seen the Dream defined as the next generation always being more wealthy than their parents.
Overall, 73 percent of all Americans will earn income that puts them in the top 20% for at least one year. Fifty-six percent will reach the top 10% for at least one year, 39% will reach the top 5%, and 12% will reach the top 1%. Of course, this doesn’t give us any context on movement between quintiles just yet, or how those born into the poorest 20% in particular fare. As Thomas Sowell reminds us: “A University of Michigan study showed that most of the working people who were in the bottom 20 percent of income earners in 1975 were also in the top 40 percent at some point by 1991. Only 5 percent of those in the bottom quintile in 1975 were still there in 1991, while 29 percent of them were now in the top quintile.” In other words, after less than two decades, there were nearly six times as many workers who moved from the bottom 20% to the top 20% than remained in the bottom 20%.
Individualism as a Concept
This isn’t necessarily a “freedom, right, or privilege,” but rather a uniquely American concept; the individual. In large part, I believe this attitude of individualism and the belief that one can pull themselves up by their own efforts has done more to thwart efforts to bring socialism to the U.S.. Only with a collectivist mindset can the public accept socialism (and we’ve seen the results).
Ayn Rand observed as much during a radio interview in 1980:
Throughout the history of Europe, the values and ideas of its people never changed on one basic point: Europe is a state-worshiping culture. It has always worshipped the power of the state, whether it is in the form of absolute monarchs, or later, of collectivists. European societies have never understood the importance of the individual and individual rights. Individualism is an American concept. Obviously, some people in Europe understand it, but they are the exceptions. Because European culture is so steeped in the altruistic idea that man must exist for others, the greatest distinction the European can dream of is to serve, or be rewarded by, the state. The state is regarded as an almost supernatural being and the individual citizen as just a serf.
In America, it is exactly the opposite. America is the first country in history that was deliberately and consciously founded on a certain philosophy. It is a philosophy, rooted in Aristotelianism, which respects the individual and holds that society should be based on individual rights. This principle was formulated for the first time in the United States by the Founding Fathers. It is so great an achievement that centuries from now, men should kneel when they think of what their forefathers created in this country.
And on that note – it’s glad we declared independence from one European state. I suppose that’s yet another thing we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving!
