Mr. Smith and the American Creed

I would agree that the American identity is built on a creed that was established during the American Revolution—the ideals, as Lipset says, of "liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire". When Smith first arrives in Washington and the patriotic scenes begin, it's not so much a portrayal of American history as it is a scene showing words from the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, Gettysburg Address—words that define the American ideals and the American identity. I do think that other nations have creeds as well, ideals worked into their constitutions, but their entire nations were not created solely on those ideals. Other countries in Europe, as Lipset talks about, have a long, shared history that they can use to define their country's identity. America, on the other hand, began as 13 unique and sovereign colonies. This laid the foundation for Americans to not have a shared historic identity. The difficulty of getting the US Constitution created and ratified proves how the colonies couldn't agree on how the American ideals would actually work and be protected in the new US government.  

Our American ideals, our goal of freedom for all, are the only thing holding America together—which might be why American politics are falling apart, because no one agrees on how these ideals should look in the governing of the US. Some believe strongly in individual freedom from the government, others believe strongly in the government's investment in society to ensure equity and freedom for all. Our politics are no longer able to compromise on the grounds that their main goal is to uphold the American ideals—they are too focused on proving that their interpretation of the ideals is the right way. In reality, ideals alone cannot hold together an entire country, especially one with so much conflict as the US—a theme opposite to the one portrayed in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where his ideals alone saved the day. I think many Americans have lost sight of the founding creed and are disillusioned with America being a beacon of democracy again.










 

Comments

  1. Dr. BolzendahlJanuary 18, 2023 at 4:56 PM

    The decline in public trust is very interesting and perhaps not surprising - it's many factors I think, but I'm wondering if those early high levels are a post-war left-over?

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