A. Barton Hinkle on the Foundation Upon Which America Was Built
Back in April, President Obama told an Ohio audience Republicans "don't seem to remember how America was built."
But the President sure does! "America," he says, "was built on the idea of broad-based prosperity." And "the promise of equality and full participation for all." Also, "America was built on innovation," and on "the hard work and ingenuity of our people and our businesses." Not to mention "a belief that the best progress comes from ordinary citizens." It's all right there in the archives, go check it out.
It's not entirely clear why so many people feel the need to explain what America was built on. It is entirely clear, writes A. Barton Hinkle, that the country always seems to be built on ideas they happen to embrace. You never seem to hear anyone say, "I don't believe in such-and-such, but hey, that's what America was built on. Whattaya gonnado?"
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?