Okay, I'm curious someone who does not live in America. If you see anything unique about America. I'm mainly referring to the founding documents like the Declaration of Independence saying we hold truths to be self-evident. Truth is objective. All men are created equal endowed by a Creator rights to life liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness, the right, to abolish government, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms.
Do you see these as you know, really you Unique things that were really good ideas for the 1770s or do you think it's just a bunch of nationalist nonsense that we'd buy into if we were born in Bangladesh? No. No, it's, those are very unique features. And that's the reason I have a flag of America in the back of my studio. It's not that I'm American. It's that I totally identify with this culture of thinking
that America is exceptional. And I think the things you listed, there's some meaning Lesson there, like everyone created equal. I think it's being misinterpreted by the left in modern times. But certainly this ID of the First Amendment free speech and the Second Amendment freedom to bear arms. Those are the unique aspects of America that are not quite reproduced. Anywhere else.
I'll do you will have people arguing that there are equivalents, but the reality is, the way, they are friend in America and the way they are applied by the Supreme Court are quite unique. And yes, they are the ingredients of success of America. But America has also left some moles in its farmers. And these others are currently being exploited by the rise of
leftism. And the thing is, although you have guaranteed, this Liberties, all of the Liberties you have forgotten about our, all the Liberties that are now subject to the overtake of communist. So are until Liberty wasn't mentioned in the Constitution and it causes big problems. Problems in family courts and CPS services. And in the hospital's medical Liberty, not mentioned in the, the Constitution. And now what do we have a rise of first vaccination? Or at least highly socially
pressured vaccination. So, although the fourth amendment is typically recognized as limiting, the state's ability to do it. So, there are some Rises and also the third Liberty that was on protected is PSI. Size of government just overall and so you have a government that's growing. It's not involving. It's not impeding on your Liberty to speak but it's taking up on every other aspect of your life.
And so these three things are things that I would add to the American Constitution to make it quiet, almost, perfect. No, there is something deeply unique and valuable, in those words in those documents. And I can say that as a Swede, you know, the the people who started the classical liberal Revolution, the free market revolution in Sweden, 150 years
ago. They always talked about the American Founders and the, what an inspiration day were to them, how we can start a country, a new Based on ideas, not on Bluetooth important or an ethnicity or religion, but based on freedom and individual ownership to yourself larger one yard at the famous newspaper, man, who led the classical liberal revolution in Sweden. He had on his office wall, a painting of returnable of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence because he thought that was the most beautiful principles that you can use. So those documents. Are important and they are important because they ended in the longer run chattel slavery. They were the words used by all the the heroes that fought against slavery and all the remnants of the traditional World, which was based on slavery and on, on feudalism, that all men were created equal and they had the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With those words.
You couldn't uphold that inconsistency in the long run. We're us. If you talk about off Medina Jarred and and Putin. I mean countries like Russia and Muslim dictatorships. They upheld slavery as late as the 20th century so they don't have that much to brag about. I think there is a very unique. I'm a big fan of the founding documents of the United States. I think they are quite unique. I think the American Constitution, and some of the finding sort of papers are really, very exciting.
They kind of inspire me, even though I'm not American to this day, you know, sort of, I think your first amendment is a wonderful sort of piece of legislation.
I think the To do America, is that a very often, doesn't live up to these ideals and there's always a continuous process of undermining it. I notice, for example, this the near of times is projects where it kind of has this history project, which tries to redefine what the funding has meant, you know, sort of is the most grotesque example of trying to call into question the Beauty and the and and they kind of intellectual Drive. That was behind behind what the
founders were doing. Very often. People find a lot of excuses as to why the first amendment is no longer relevant believe in a complex. World free speech is not something that, you know, we can all laugh, you know, sort of, with us, some kind of restraint. I think in America, especially in universities people spend far more energy and avoid for more of their resources to limiting Free Speech rather than to expand it.
Make it more. So I think that's that seems to me to be a really really important problem. And it seems to me that you got this incredible document. This incredible kind of political contribution. The whole founding process just never happened anywhere in the world, and there's nothing like it anywhere in the world and you know, a lot of Americans particularly in Academia or committed to undermining it the corroding. Gets kind of radical revolutionary impact.
And I think that to me is a, is a really big tragedy and verified that it's happening. So fast, in America actually means that the very Soul Of America. It's kind of historical soul, is being threatened by it. This is a passage from equal is unfair by Don Watkins and yaron Brook. I was not lucky enough to be born an American citizen. I became an American citizen by choice. I am a grated to this country.
I was born and raised in Israel. I served in the Israeli military where I met my wife of 27 years and when we got married after we had fought for our country, we sat down and said, you know you only live once and we want to make them. Of Our Lives. We want to be someplace where we can enjoy Freedom, where we can make the most of the life that we have, where we can pursue our happiness, where we can raise our children, to the best of our ability, and we looked around
the world. We weren't committed to any particular place. So we looked around the world and we said, where are we going to go? We chose this country because America is the greatest nation on Earth and really is the greatest nation in human history of all the Ian's yaron considered before he made his decision. One that never came up was, how much economic inequality there was an America like Millions before him. Yeah. Ron came to America seeking, to make a better life for himself
and his family. He wanted to experience the American dream in which he would be free to set his own course and Rise as far as his ability and ambition would take him. Would that put him in the top 1% or the bottom ten percent of income earners in America, it never would have occurred to him to ask and if someone had asked him, his answer would have been, who cares? You're on is not unique in this regard. Polls consistently show, that inequality is very low on Americans list of concerns.
Even people who live in rural Michigan and struggle to make their mortgage payments. Apparently don't care that hundreds of miles away in New York, a handful of hedge fund, managers fly on private jets and die. At Nobu, what we do care deeply about is the opportunity to make a better life for ourselves. And we are more likely to celebrate the fact that this allows some people to succeed beyond their Wildest Dreams. Then lose sleep over it, and is
1931 book. The Epic of America, James truslow Adams, introduced the phrase, the American dream into the Lexicon, or referring to that dream of a land in, which life. Life should be better and richer and Fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to Ability or achievement. The American dream is about opportunity, the opportunity to pursue a better life. Where one success, depends on nothing.
More and nothing, less than one's own ability and effort and we're as a result innovators can come from nowhere to spearhead Limitless human progress. This is an excerpt from democracy. The God That Failed by german-born. Hans Hermann. Hapa chapter 13 on the impossibility of limited government and the prospect for revolution.
In a recent survey people of different nationalities were asked how proud they were to be American German French Etc and whether or not they believe that the world would be a better place. If other countries were just like their own, the country's ranking highest in terms of national pride were the United States and Austria. As interesting as it would be to consider the case of Austria
here. I shall concentrate on the US and the question whether and to what extent the American claim can be justified in the following. I will identify three main sources of American national pride. I will argue that the first two are Justified sources of Pride. While the third actually represents a fatal error. Finally. I will go on to explain how this error might be repaired the Source of national pride is the memory of America's not so distant, Colonial past as a country of pioneers.
In fact, the English settlers coming to North America were the last example of the Glorious achievements of what Adam Smith referred to as a system of natural Liberty, the ability of men to create a free and prosperous Commonwealth from scratch. Contrary to the hobbesian account of human nature home. Mo homini, lupus assess the English, settlers demonstrated, not just the viability, but also the vibrancy and attractiveness of State list anarcho-capitalist
social order. They demonstrated how in accordance with the views of John Locke, private property originated naturally through a person's original appropriation his purposeful use and transformation of previously unused, land Wilderness. Furthermore. They demonstrated that based on the recognition of private property division of labor and contractions. Travel exchange men were capable of protecting themselves effectively against antisocial aggressors.
First and foremost by means of self-defense, less crime existed, then exist. Now, and as Society, grew increasingly prosperous and complex, by means of specialization IE by institutions and agencies, such as property, Registries notaries lawyers judges courts juries Sheriff's Mutual Defence Association.
Jeans and popular militias, moreover the American colonists, demonstrated, the fundamental sociological importance of the institution of covenants of associations of linguistically, ethnically religiously and culturally homogeneous settlers led by and subject to the internal jurisdiction of a popular, leader founder to ensure peaceful, human cooperation, and maintain Law and Order.
The second source of national pride, is the American Revolution in Europe. There have been no Open Frontiers for centuries and the intro European colonialization colonization experience lay in its distant past with the growth
of the population societies. Had assumed an increasingly hierarchical structure of freemen, three holders and servants, Lords and vassals overlords and Kings while distinctly more stratified and Aristocratic then colonial, America. The so-called feudal societies of medieval Europe. Were also typically stateless, social orders a state in accordance with generally accepted terminology is defined as a compulsory territorial monopolist of Law and Order. And ultimate decision-maker,
feudal Lords and Kings did not typically fulfill the requirements of a state. They could only tax with the consent of the taxed and On his own land, every free man was as much a sovereign ultimate decision, maker as the feudal King was on his. However, in the course of many centuries. These originally stateless societies had gradually transformed into absolute
statist monarchies while. They had initially been acknowledged, voluntarily as protectors, and judges European Kings had at long last succeeded in establishing themselves as hereditary heads of state. Stood by the aristocracy, but helped Along by the common people. They had become absolute monarchs with the power to tax without consent, and to make ultimate decisions regarding the property of free men. These European developments had a two-fold effect on America. On the one hand.
England was also ruled by an absolute King, at least until 1688. And when the English settlers arrived on the new continent, the Kings rule was Ended to America. Unlike the settlers founding of private property and their private voluntary and Cooperative production of security and administration of justice. However, the establishment of the royal colonies and administration's was not the result of original appropriation homesteading and contract.
In fact, no English king had ever set foot on the American continent but of usurpation Declaration. And in position on the other hand, the settlers, brought something with them from Europe. Are the development from feudalism to Royal absolutism had not only been resisted by the aristocracy, but it was also opposed theoretically with recourse to the theory of natural rights as it originated
with Scholastic philosophy. According to this Doctrine, government was supposed to be contractual and every government agent including the King was subject to the same Universal rights and laws as everyone else. While this may have been The case in earlier times, it certainly no longer true for modern. Absolute Kings. Absolute Kings were usurpers of Human Rights and thus illegitimate, hence Insurrection was not only permitted but became a duty sanctioned by
natural law. The American colonists were familiar with the doctrine of natural rights and fact, in light of their own personal experience, with the achievements and effects of natural Liberty. And as religious dissenters, who had left their mother country in
disagreement. With the king and the church of England, they were partially receptive to this Doctrine, Stephen in the doctrine of natural rights, encouraged by the distance of the English, king and stimulated further by the puritanical Center of Royal, idleness luxury and pomp the American colonists, rose up to free themselves from British rule as Thomas. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. Government was instituted to
protect life, liberty and the pursuit of Of happiness, it drew its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. In contrast, the Royal British government's claim that it could tax the colonists without their consent. If a government failed to do what it was designed to do
Jefferson declared. It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it. And to Institute, a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to To effect their safety and happiness.