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American Rationalism Research Paper

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Amber Tinsmon Professor Rubenstien HACU 238 April 7, 2015 American Exceptionalism: something clever In the summer of 1984, Ronald Reagan accepted his second presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. Reagan's speech took the audience back before his first presidency, and depicted the image of a once great country in the middle of a crisis. “Let's take them [America] on a little stroll down memory lane,” remarked Reagan, “let's remind them of how a 4.8-percent inflation rate in 1976 became back-to-back years of double-digit inflation...the highest interest rates since the Civil War...[nationwide] industrial decline...Teenage drug use, out-of-wedlock births, and crime increased dramatically [under the leadership …show more content…

We are entered into covenant with Him for this work. We have taken out a commission. The Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles...We have hereupon besought Him of favor and blessing. Now if the Lord shall please to hear us, and bring us in peace to the place we desire, then hath He ratified this covenant and sealed our commission, and will expect a strict performance of the articles contained in it” (Winthrop). With these words, John Winthrop succinctly laid out the covenant he and his congregation was making with God: God had given the Puritans this New Land, had given them His blessing, and in return expected them to carry out His mission. The Puritans viewed the New World “...simultaneously as a nourishing mother and an undefiled virgin...providing material plenty, perennial good health, and moral purity against a backdrop of Edenic Lusciousness” (Bercovitch, 137). If Winthrop's congregation failed their mission, then “the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be revenged of such a people, and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant“(Winthrop). This holy mission uniquely assigned to the Puritans in the New World represents the foundations of American Exceptionalism, that America is a special nation, unique in purpose, superior in morality and action, and blessed by God Himself: America is part of God's plan, and America has vital roles to play and missions to …show more content…

Each of us has to put our principles and consciences on the line...there's no moral middle ground. Indifference is not an option...I implore each of you to be unyielding and inflexible in your opposition to drugs“(Reagan and Reagan, Campaign...). The Reagan's go on to talk about the history of American's giving their life for freedom, specifically bringing mentioning the soldiers who gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy, and the nation's obligation to not only God, but to these soldiers to keep America safe and drug free. As Americans, the audience not only had an obligation to a society free from the menace of drugs, but a right, “You are Americans. You're the product of the freest society mankind has ever known. No one, ever, has the right to destroy your dreams and shatter your life“(Reagan and Reagan, Campaign...). Ironically, the policies enacted during the Reagan's War on Drugs have led to incredible increases incarceration rates for minor drug offenses, which have arguably destroyed the dreams and shattered the lives of many. I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO FROM HERE. I THINK I STILL NEED TO FINE-TUNE MY ARGUEMENT. I WOULD LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK, AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS IN THE MEANTIME ~

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