I was thinking a couple of days ago about the different revolutions that have taken place around the world. Mexican Revolution, Russian Revolutions, Cuban Revolution and so forth. Most revolutions, for whatever reason, have resulted in the killing of the ones in power and have led to Communism, Socialism and dictatorships. Then we have the American Revolution. It didn't result in the death of King George. It didn't lead to a dictatorship. It brought about the world's first free republic where we have the power instead of the government. It led to a leader that we selected and we're supposed to have power over. We could have easily went the way of oppression like others but we didn't. What made, and, for the most part, makes, the people here so different? Has anyone really thought about that? Americans are so very different than anyone else in that we... you know, I can't quite put my finger on it. We're just tougher, more independent people. We don't like being told what to do. Our forefathers lived in that type of environment across Europe and dreamed of escaping it. That's what America is. A haven for those who have had enough. People who are sick and tired of having their lives ran for them. I know it's considered jingoist or racist or whatever to believe in American exceptionalism but we are an exceptional country. A better country. And although we've lost some of the magic that's made America the land of hope and dreams over the years, I have to, need to, believe that there are still enough of us who respect the traditions and history of this country that it will always be here. A free nation for people to come to when they need it.
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"...the American Revolution was about preserving the traditional rights that the American colonists had enjoyed as British citizens."
http://epplereffect.blogspot.com/2010/03/conservative-revolution.html
The colonists protested that their “ancient chartered rights” were being violated. The colonists held the position that their own colonial legislatures should be the only body with the power to tax them. The colonists were not seeking to completely transform their society. They were used to self-governance and felt that it was their right under the British Constitution. They simply wished to retain self-rule. Captain Preston, a veteran of the Battle of Concord in 1775 said it best. He was asked by Judge Mellen Chamberlain in 1842 why he fought the British. A 91 year old Captain Preston replied “Young man, what we meant in going for those redcoats was this: We always had governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn’t mean we should.”
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