Why is the US the Super Power that it is?

Question

We are a great superpower, the undisputed economic and military superpower of this world. Have you ever asked yourself why? What is so special about us that we have this privileged position in the world?
We no longer have the most oil in the world or gold or silver or diamonds. We no longer have the best work ethic in the world. We no longer have the most respect for technical education. We no longer have the most respect for the nuclear family. Nearly half of our children are born out of wedlock. What makes us so special?
I have asked myself that question a lot of times, and I think there are two reasons. There may be others, but I have noted for myself two reasons I think. One of those is the enormous respect that this country, that this government, has for our civil liberties. There is no other Constitution, there is no other government, that has this great respect for civil liberties.
The Constitution written in 1787 was hardly dry before our Founding Fathers wondered if it was clear that most of the rights, most of the power, should belong to the people, and so they wrote what we call the Bill of Rights, those first 10 amendments which delineated very clearly that most of the rights belonged to the people.
A second reason, I believe that we are such a great, free Nation, undisputed superpower in the world, I believe that our Founding Fathers understood that God sat with them at the table when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Here is a statement from Alexander Hamilton one year before they wrote the Declaration of Independence, and I think that it kind of epitomizes the belief that most of our Founding Fathers had.
“The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature by the hands of the divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”
Is there any better evidence that our Founding Fathers believed that God sat with them at the table when they wrote these great documents?
I would like to read something from the Declaration of Independence, that first document, in 1776. ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.''
Five times in the Declaration of Independence God is mentioned. Do you think that our courts may declare the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional because it mentions God?

Answer 1

I find it difficult to dismiss the notion that more exist than meets the eye. I have watched countless sunrises in my life and have never lost the sense of awe about life and the sense of a greater power.

Answer 2

No, I do not believe religion is the reason. Every country feels that God is on thier side. Several reasons come to mind for me, though. One, no army is able to suddenly invade us, as any European country can suddenly invade its neighbor, this gives us a level of protection that no one else enjoys. Yes, with long range missles we can now be attacked, but by no standing army. Two, we work harder and longer then anyone else in the world. Not sure where you got the idea we do not, but compared to the rest of the world we are workaholics. Having natural resources do not make you a superpower, it is the percieved strength of your government. No matter what anyone may think of a president when it is his time to go, he goes, no civil war, no fighting, just a peaceful transition. The same in case of death. Very few countries have this smooth a transaction. Most of Europes and Asia's governments can be dismissed at any time by a no confidence vote. Italy alone has had over 50 different governments since WWII. Traditionaly we are not a country that is into imperialism. We prefer to stay to ourselves, so countries know that we are not looking to expand into thier territory, unlike the Europeans. Prior to this present war, we have never attacked a country that did not attack us first. Can you name the last thing Japan invented? Not improved, but invented. Most of what they do is improve upon earlier inventions, making them smaller, faster,ect. Even thier own leaders have complained about thier lack of imagination in comparision to the U.S. Lastly, even countries that hate us find that we will come to thier aid in times of crisis, expecting nothing in return, simply because it is the right thing to do. When Muslims here were attacked after 9-11, the president wasted no time in reminding Americans that all religions must be respected and we are not to condem all because of a few, Europe was much slower to react, or have even gone out of their way to farther attack Muslims. There are more, but these should suffice.

Answer 3

On a rant I see. We are not, and haven't been the same country as our forefathers envisioned for the last 50 years. We are an stew of different cultures, and different beleifs. Some of us don't folllow a Christian god. The fact that the Declaration of Independence and Constitution mentions "God" doesn't necessarily make it the law of the land. These are merely pieces of paper and not the real ideal behind our country.

Marriage is a fairly new thing in the scheme of mankind - and so is having children in wedlock. Frankly, it does not matter.

Why not start having the mindset that you will concern yourself with your own morality and own family and keep out of the lives of others. We would all be happier if that would happen.

Answer 4

WOW! Those are a lot of questions; I'm just going to answer the first one as it will take a large portion of my time just for that one.

Okay first thing is first, nature. We have nature on our side, from the climate to the resources to the oceans around us. The oceans provide a strategic and economical advantage. Militarily the armies in Europe and Asia have a tough time getting to us. Economically our merchant ships can access both Europe and Asia without crossing through the US. We also have the most fresh water in the world. What people seem to forget is that fresh water is WAY more precious than oil. This fresh water allows us to do a couple of things. One is ship goods and transport things into the ocean from the Inland. The most important of all is that it gives us the largest amount of farmable land in the world. This means that we are the only nation in the world that can feed ourselves AND transport enough food to feed most of the rest of the world. In fact watch a sign of our power from one of the recent but few mistakes of this administration. When we step up ethanol production this cause the price of corn to skyrocket because so much corn is needed to make it. You might even see riots in South America because people will start dying of starvation since corn is a food staple down there. This alone can make us the most power nation in the world but there is more.

Another is freedom. There isn't anything magical about it like you read in school, but it is important because people want it. Other nations are mad at this because we are stealing their best and brightest because they want to live here. Also contrary to popular belief even though our grade schools suck, our colleges are the best in the world. I can only think of Oxford as being a more prestige college than American ones and some Indian engineering ones.

However one of our weaknesses is the lack of effectiveness of our military. They are extremely strong; don't get me wrong; they just require so much more money as compared to troops around the world. The other weakness is the media. I mean why you think that the people in the US are turning their back on the troops. They are going to make us lose the war just like they did in Vietnam. One of the biggest mistakes the founding fathers did was to give a freedom of the press (I know I'm ranting, but I'm pissed at those freakin' pinkos).

We don't need the best work ethic in the world because we are one the most advanced commercially. If a machine can do the work of 20 people but takes one person to operate it, then who cares about his work ethic as long as he does the bare minimum.

Answer 5

I think it goes back to the civil rights you mention... one of which if freedom of speech... and the market place of ideas...

a kind of "idea Darwinism"... that many countries do not have...

now, you can talk all day about the "root" of civil rights, be it religion, a personal moral code or whatever... but the very civil rights themselves are the key...

as far as mentioning God goes... on one hand... maybe they knew their audience... in other words, if you're writing something for a group that's mainly Christian, it helps to throw in God...

either way, I don't think it's vital to America's strength...

Answer 6

Yes, the founding fathers believed strongly that a spirit exist. That spirit, however, is defined differently among men. Our nation today is having trouble uniting behind one vision of that spirit. Christians call that spirit God and will not accept any other ideal than that found in their dogma.
Whatever that spirit might be, it is the ruling power of this land. America needs to believe that it walks in the graces of a power greater than mankind.

Answer 7

Well actually super human powers are in fact real, i know this because i know how to preform telekinesis, create PSI balls, see auras, detect auras, and more. I have preformed these many times It its not easy,... but it is possible, but only possible for the ones who believe and only possible for the faithful ones.

Answer 8

Good point, if we are the land of the free how come we can't mention the word "god" or talk about religion.

Good point, keep on asking questions.

Answer 9

Ameirca kicks *** because God wanted it to be that way. USA! USA! USA! (another old Bush chant)

Answer 10

Capitalism is a huge reason for American success.