America: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave?
Francis Scott Key penned the now eternally glorious lyric, “land of the free, home of the brave”, in a poem he wrote after witnessing Fort McHenry in Baltimore getting ravaged in 1814. The first verse of this song is currently used as our national anthem, entitled ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. For centuries, Americans accepted this line as their motto, words to replicate into their lifestyle. Yet today, Americans display qualities of the free, and not so much of the self-proclaimed brave. In other words, Americans find it more ideal to be ‘free’ than to be ‘brave’. The imbalance of freedom to bravery is demonstrated in modern America through the underestimation of soldiers’ mental, economic, and physical state upon their return stateside, the unwillingness of Americans to try new things, and the lack of belief in America’s future. This inequality is what makes America unexceptional today.
Right now in America, who receives more publicity, American politicians who preserve our freedom, or the audacious soldiers who scrap for it? Sure, it happens to be an election year, which means intense coverage of the two candidates, and of course, our troops do receive an immense amount of appreciation, but is it enough? These men and women are giving much more than their time and physical beings for their country; they’re gambling on their own mental stability for when they return home. Jonathan Shay, a psychiatrist, and author of the book Odysseus in America, explains why the soldier is so affected when he/she leaves their duty. “In combat, you have to shut down those emotions that do not directly serve survival...this is profoundly disconcerting to families when a soldier comes back, and he seems to be made out of ice,” describes Shay. These citizens are giving up their usual freedoms for the welfare of their precious nation, which brings up another question: What do we fight to preserve in America? If you ask Americans, they’ll probably say something like freedom, or the American way. Has freedom become the basis of American exceptionalism? In this case, it has. Veterans in this country have an extremely difficult adjustment from their daily routines to the battlefield, and then back to their usual life again, and many times veterans have to resort to begging for money on the streets, converting into vagrants. The struggle they must tolerate can hardly be considered as liberty. Projects such as the Wounded Warrior project attempt to connect veterans to one another, but for some, the physical limitations are just too much to handle, and the PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) can cause severe cerebral problems. These men and women are just as enthralled with the idea of freedom as are all Americans, but the difference with them is that they are willing to defend it. These citizens should be treated with the utmost respect, but society does not comply.
Is this what John Winthrop preached for all those years ago? Certainly, the ideals we have about liberty are derived from these early authors of the New World, yet these Founding Fathers needed bravery to venture here. Did we forget that courage is necessary? More Americans presently would value freedom higher than bravery, and it’s this ideal that makes the U.S.A. unique. People nowadays are not as willing to stand up for their rights and fight for a cause they believe in as they used to be in earlier times in this nation’s history. So is the U.S. an exceptional country based on this distinct preference? Sadly, it is not. Valor is exactly what we need in this dynamic global landscape, and America is short on it. In this day and age where people should be proactive in making a change in the world by doing something they believe in, truly investing time and effort into a cause, they sit back and relax...literally. An article on ‘Live Well Blog’ estimates that more than 40% of Americans are physically inactive, meaning they are either overweight or remain sedentary in their house. North and South America combined form the most inactive population in the world. Politically, the same occurrence passes, as demonstrated by the lack of voters present at the past couple elections. Americans simply lack passionate sentiments towards freedoms that other countries would kill for, like free elections or an exotic blend of enjoyment activities.
The upcoming election has the whole country swarming around social media outlets, with all branches of journalism teeming with opinions, elaborations, and propaganda. Nearly everybody has something to infer about the politicians in question, or a political issue as a whole; however, other analysts will just debate that America has already realized its full potential, and this generation is heading in the wrong direction. The politicians who we bestow our decision-making abilities unto no longer have faith in our country, so why should we? From education, to insurmountable debt, to the unemployment rate, many argue that America is steadily declining as a world power. A truly outstanding nation does not bow its head in shame and dwell on the past, no! A purely phenomenal country stands above its peers, even if it is experiencing troublesome years. Instead of placing blame and pointing fingers, claiming that America’s time has come and gone, a truly exceptional motherland would endure, and even thrive. America has yet to do this, so America has yet to regain its dominating status.
Has all hope vanished for America? Perhaps this next election will determine whether America can once again return from the place which it rappelled. It is more likely, however, that this glorious country could genuinely manage a rebound with the appreciation of veterans, our modern day superheroes, the inclination of Americans to go make a change, and a little faith in the country in which we reside in presently. America is not exceptional right now for these reasons, but with some adjustments, the land of the free can bounce back. “America is not in decline,” claims Vice President Joe Biden, “It’s never been a good bet to bet against the American people. Never.”
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ReplyDeleteJosh, I really loved your piece. I loved how you began the essay with a cynical view of American ideals and then continued to reveal your faith in America at the end. Your literary style is clear and varied, and while reading, I felt as though you carefully crafted each sentence and chose each quote to get across your point. You intelligently assessed American society as a whole, while carefully portraying your personal opinion on the actions of American society. Although a little abrupt in the flow of the paragraph, I particularly enjoyed Biden's quote at the end of the conclusion. It let your last paragraph conclude with a "bang," leaving the reader wanting more.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very strong piece. Your assertive tone and use of questions really make the reader consider the validity of modern-day exceptionalism. In class, we discussed whether we upheld the ideal of a "city on a hill", however this ideal was focused on a Godly/holy community. I liked how in your piece you questioned our faith to our own national anthem, something that's supposed to be a sort of identity or moral code for Americans. It opens questions such as how can we uphold our own ideals? Should we favor freedom over bravery? I might suggest breaking up the second paragraph because it's pretty lengthy and the reader can get lost between PTSD and obesity, etc. but the research you put into finding all that evidence really made the piece. Great work!
ReplyDeleteJosh, I love this! This is a really well written piece and you have impressive evidence to back all of your arguments. Your syntax flows nicely and creates really smooth transitions. The introduction is a great way of captivating the reader, and you did a really nice job developing your idea by contradicting the ideas of the Star-Spangled Banner. You also have really strong points to support your thesis, and I enjoyed your exploration of the significance of freedom versus bravery- this is an intriguing way of looking at the question of America's claimed exceptionalism. I agree with Fiona that your second paragraph can be a bit confusing because it is so dense, so maybe you can split it up between the frustrations of veterans and America's laziness.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, I was impressed by the whole variety of facts you were able to fit into your argument. I find the inclusion of PTSD and veteran poverty particularly effective in developing the cynical tone of the essay, as these two issues highlight the conflicting nature of American Exceptionalism. One criticism I have is regarding the overall clarity of some of the sentences in your essay. As Fiona and Sharon mentioned, there are parts in the essay where wordy sentence structures slightly detract from the effectiveness of the argument being formulated. This being said, I really enjoyed the critical nature of the piece and some of the provocative ideas you presented
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ReplyDeleteJosh: I really like how you bring up an important issue that nobody else has even remotely hinted at. Like Maya said, it really gets your idea across, and your sources are well chosen. I actually don't mind your "wordiness" unlike how some others do. However, there are also some places where you can be more clear. I couldn't figure out a key point in your essay: whether we should have more American military intervention or not. Are you saying that fighting wars "for freedom" comes at a great cost, but we should be brave and do it anyway because the benefits are greater? Or are you saying we should be less obsessed about "freedom" and stop fighting to protect our brave soldiers? Perhaps you could also elaborate on the "exotic blend of enjoyment activities" that "countries would kill for". I can only wonder what that is... In conclusion, despite some shortcomings, I really liked the topic of your essay as well as your writing style.
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