American History 2.0

Written by Frank Li

Can any country possibly be more exceptional than America, which was founded with neither a king nor a pope? No, of course not! Yet, today, not only is America most religious among the developed countries, she also seems to be yearning for a king, if not a living God (Is Donald Trump a God?). Why is that?

To correctly answer the question, we must truly understand what America is, for which we must truly understand what America was, correcting (parts of) the history, if necessary …

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In this post, I will attempt to correct top 10 American misconceptions about America. Here is the list:

1. Misconception 1: Jamestown is the first permanent European settlement in America.
2. Misconception 2: The American Revolution was about liberty (or freedom).
3. Misconception 3: All men are created equal!
4. Misconception 4: “We, the People” …
5. Misconception 5: Thomas Jefferson was the best thinker among the Founding Fathers.
6. Misconception 6: Abraham Lincoln was an abolitionist.
7. Misconception 7: John Kennedy was a great President.
8. Misconception 8: Democracy is the best form of government.
9. Misconception 9: We are in trouble, but everything will be all right.
10. Misconception 10: America is the greatest country in human history.

Let me elaborate on each …

Misconception 1: Jamestown is the first permanent European settlement in America

No, it is not! It is the first permanent English settlement in America (Jamestown Settlement). The Spanish settled down in Florida (e.g. St. Augustine) quite a few decades before that. For more, watch the video below.

Misconception 2: The American Revolution was about liberty (or freedom)

No, it was not about liberty (or freedom) per se! It was initiated by a bunch of rich people, most notably Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who did not want to pay [more] taxes to the mother country! They conspicuously hid this real reason behind the eloquent slogan of “no taxation without representation“.

In case you did not know, John Adams and Samuel Adams were cousins.

For more, watch the video below.

Misconception 3: All men are created equal!

This statement in the Declaration of Independence was very powerful and inspirational against the British monarchy at the time. But it was controversial on its first day, even among the Founding Fathers, of whom many were slave owners. In other words, the Founding Fathers did not practice what they preached.

More profoundly, this statement is not even correct. The image below offers one example.

For more, read: Not All Men Are Created Equal!

Misconception 4: “We, the People” …

“We, the People“, so begins the U.S. Constitution. But it only referred to some white property-owners in 1789, at least in terms of voting.

Now, let’s go back to “all men are created equal†… If it refers to the rights, we may have achieved it in terms of voting, thanks to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but not in terms of serving. The image below highlights the issue: nepotism in America!

For more, read: “We the People,” Really?

Misconception 5: Thomas Jefferson was the best thinker among the Founding Fathers

No, he was not! Alexander Hamilton will prove to be having a more enduring vision for America than Thomas Jefferson did. For more, read: Vision for America: Alexander Hamilton vs. Thomas Jefferson.

Moreover, since John Adams’ vision for America was between Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s (America: What Did Our Founding Fathers Do, Actually?), it, too, should prove to be superior to Jefferson’s.

Misconception 6: Abraham Lincoln was an abolitionist

No, he was not! Three important points:

1. Lincoln wasn’t an abolitionist.
2. Lincoln didn’t believe blacks should have the same rights as whites.
3. Lincoln thought colonization could solve the issue of slavery.

For more, read: 5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation.

Misconception 7: John Kennedy was a great President

JFK is arguably the worst American President, in recent history at least! Here is why: on January 17, 1962, he signed Executive Order 10988, which allows public sector workers to unionize against the people of the United States, thus ensuring America’s bankruptcy down the road, city by city, state by state, as we have been experiencing over the past decade, with the far worse yet to come.

For more, read: Correctly Assessing President John F. Kennedy.

Misconception 8: Democracy is the best form of government

Totally wrong! Three main reasons:

1. Democracy is a proven failure throughout human history, without a single example of lasting success.
2. For the past one hundred years at least, western [liberal] democracy has been mostly a falsehood built on top of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism.
3. For most of the world, there is now a real and powerful alternative to democracy: state capitalism, exemplified by China.

For more, read: End of Democracy?

Misconception 9: We are in trouble, but everything will be all right

Why? “Because America has always come out all right when facing crises before, right?” Wrong! Prayer might have worked before, but not any longer. Two reasons:

1. Foreign competition: China is totally different from our competitors before (e.g. Japan): aside from China’s comparable size to ours, China’s system (i.e. capitalism + autocracy) looks slightly better than ours (i.e. capitalism + democracy). In a 2-hiker world, all one hiker needs to do, when chased by a hungry grizzly, is to run a bit faster than the other hiker.
2. Self-destruction: America is being destroyed by both the extreme right, which promotes Democratic Imperialism, and the extreme left, which promotes Democratic Socialism.

Misconception 10: America is the greatest country in human history

This claim is not only presumptuous, but also ignorant!

China is arguably the greatest country in human history. Two facts:

1. China has the longest continuous civilization in human history. For example, China led the world in almost everything mostly for the first 1,800 years of our 2-millennium-old calendar.
2. Throughout human history, great civilizations have come and gone, with one major exception: China – come, almost gone, and come again!

Compared with China, America is just a teenager, with a lot more growing up to do and a lot more to prove! Two informative readings:

1. Governance in China: Past, Present, and Future.
2. Governance in America.

Fortunately for America, I believe I have the most accurate diagnosis, as well as the best solution. For more, read: American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?

Closing

Rome was not built in one day, nor did it go down in one day.

To stop America’s precipitous decline, we must know who we are, for which we must know who we were. This post has helped a little bit, hopefully …

Now, please sit back and enjoy the long video below.