American Exceptionalism: Leadership Abroad, Justice at Home
American Exceptionalism is not a boast. It is a burden—a solemn responsibility inherited from the generations who came before us, and a challenge to live up to the principles we claim to embody. To me, it means more than waving a flag or reciting a creed. It’s about action, integrity, and leadership—not just within our borders, but across the world.
As Sen. John McCain wrote, “What makes us exceptional? Our wealth? Our natural resources? Our military power? Our big, bountiful country? No, our founding ideals and our fidelity to them at home and in our conduct in the world make us exceptional.”
I believe America is exceptional not because we are perfect, but because we strive to improve. Our exceptionalism is rooted in our historic role as a defender of democracy, liberty, and human dignity. We are the country that helped defeat fascism in World War II, stood up to Soviet totalitarianism during the Cold War, and expanded civil rights at home when it would have been easier to maintain the status quo. American Exceptionalism, in my view, is not a statement of supremacy—it’s a call to stewardship.
American Exceptionalism is a solemn responsibility demanding moral leadership abroad and justice at home.
________________________________________
A Legacy of Leadership and Responsibility
I have often been influenced by the words of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who called the United States “the indispensable nation.” That idea captures the essence of what I believe: America’s power is not merely economic or military—it is moral. Our nation has the unique capacity and obligation to lead, especially when others will not.
That doesn’t mean we act alone. Leadership does not equal unilateralism. It means being the first to stand, even if others hesitate. It means using our influence to rally coalitions against tyranny, genocide, terrorism, and authoritarianism. It means offering hope to the oppressed and holding ourselves accountable to the same democratic standards we urge others to adopt.
I understand this may sound idealistic, especially in a time when skepticism of America’s role in the world runs deep—on both the left and the right. But exceptionalism isn’t about pretending we’ve never erred. It’s about learning from our failures and rising again to meet the moment.
________________________________________
A Nation Tested, a Generation Changed
Like so many others in my generation, my political awakening came on the morning of September 11, 2001. I was a teenager, just trying to get ready for high school. And then everything changed. Without warning, I was pulled out of the shower by my younger brother, naked and still dripping wet, and dragged by the arm to the living room where I then stood shocked and motionless in front of the TV shortly before the second hijacked plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The terror, the disbelief, and the grief I felt that morning reshaped me.
That was the day I stopped taking America’s safety for granted. It was also the day I began to see our nation as more than a place to live—it was an idea to defend. From that point on, I have viewed the world through a different lens: one where freedom must be guarded, and where America must remain prepared—not just with weapons and soldiers, but with moral clarity and democratic purpose.
I supported military actions against those responsible for 9/11, even when I later criticized the way some of those interventions were handled. I opposed Donald Trump’s disregard for democratic norms not just because I disagreed with his policies, but because I feared the precedent his authoritarian tendencies would set. When a violent mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, it felt like another 9/11—this time, a spiritual attack from within.
That day reminded me that American Exceptionalism is fragile. It must be defended not only against foreign enemies but against domestic forces that seek to dismantle our democratic institutions for personal gain.
That experience shaped my understanding that military action alone cannot secure the freedoms we cherish; our commitment must extend beyond the battlefield.
________________________________________
Commitment to Freedom Cannot End with Military Victory Alone
American Exceptionalism demands that when we go to war, we do so with clarity of purpose and a commitment to see the mission through—militarily, morally, and strategically.
The Gulf War in 1991 was a justified response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and a rare moment of international unity. But we stopped short. I believe it was a grave and avoidable mistake not to remove Hussein from power when we had the chance.
As British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher warned, “Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed—but they can never be appeased.” But her warning went unheeded. By allowing Hussein to remain in power, the George H. W. Bush administration gave him the opportunity to continue terrorizing his own people and threaten the stability of the region. That unfinished business planted the seeds of a much bloodier conflict a decade later.
In 2003, we finally removed that same dictator—but without a real plan for what would follow. The Iraq War, despite noble intentions, was carried out with poor postwar planning and no coherent reconstruction strategy. We created a power vacuum, and into it rushed insurgents, terrorists, and sectarian chaos.
I believe both conflicts—though opposite in many ways—share a tragic flaw: the unwillingness to finish what we started. As Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned during another war 75 years ago, “War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.”
________________________________________
A war worth waging must be a war worth winning—completely.
We made the same mistake in Afghanistan in 1989. After helping the Afghan people drive out the Soviets, we walked away, leaving behind wreckage, warlords, and despair. Congressman Charlie Wilson, who had worked tirelessly in securing funding for Afghan freedom fighters, pleaded with his colleagues to fund schools and infrastructure to stabilize Afghanistan, but we turned our backs. That neglect gave rise to the Taliban and the harboring of al-Qaeda, the very terrorist organization which attacked us on 9/11. We keep paying the price for wars we start but fail to finish.
And then, after two decades of occupation in the wake of 9/11 and poorly-funded and weak attempts at nation-building, we’ve abandoned the people of Afghanistan to the very Taliban despots who are once again subjugating women and girls to a status barely above total slavery.
If we are to be a moral force in the world, then our commitment to freedom cannot end with military victory. It must extend to what comes after—building peace, preventing power vacuums, and showing the people we claim to liberate that we won’t abandon them the moment the shooting stops.
________________________________________
Exceptionalism Requires Strength
I make no apologies for my hawkish views on national security. I support a significant increase in the defense budget, the expansion of our naval power, and stronger global alliances. But not because I want war. I want peace. And peace, historically, has only been secured when America projected strength—especially in the face of authoritarian aggression.
I’m an advocate for making Guam a U.S. state, not merely for symbolic reasons, but because it serves as a strategic deterrent against Chinese expansionism in the Pacific. I support arming Ukraine not because I want a prolonged war, but because we must show that democracy will not cower before tanks and tyrants. I believe the U.S. must prepare militarily to defend Taiwan because failing to do so would signal to authoritarian regimes everywhere that freedom is negotiable.
Let me be clear: I do not believe in fighting poorly planned endless wars without clear objectives. But I do believe that freedom, once lost, is nearly impossible to regain without an even greater sacrifice of blood and treasure. And if American Exceptionalism means anything, it means being the world’s firewall against tyranny—standing in the breach when others retreat.
________________________________________
Justice at Home, Leadership Abroad
My political values stress the need for a strong national defense, but they are equally committed to social justice and democratic reform. To lead the world, America must first be worth following.
My view of exceptionalism demands both outward strength and inward justice. If we proclaim freedom to the world while allowing our own people to suffer under inequality, voter suppression, or institutional discrimination, then we have failed the exceptionalism promise.
As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
In a 1968 interview with David Frost, just one month before his assassination, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was asked how he would like to be remembered. He responded thoughtfully, saying:
“Something about the fact that I made some contribution to either my country, or those who were less well off. I think back to what Camus wrote about the fact that perhaps this world is a world in which children suffer, but we can lessen the number of suffering children, and if you do not do this, then who will do this? I’d like to feel that I’d done something to lessen that suffering.”
Mahatma Gandhi said that the true measure of any society can be found in how it cares for its most vulnerable members. That’s why I firmly oppose any policies that slash Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or other essential programs for the young and the elderly. Such decisions betray our responsibility to ensure all Americans have access to the healthcare, housing, and support necessary to live with dignity.
It’s why I also support immediately raising the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour and indexing future increases automatically to inflation, expanding access to healthcare to all through a single-payer system, eliminating unfair burdens—like taxing tips or penalizing people for selling their own homes, allowing seniors on Social Security to continue to work without their benefits being cut, and ending the increasingly draconian ways in which the government delays or denies benefits to the medically disabled.
I believe deeply in respecting and strengthening the rights of women to make choices about our own bodies, free from government interference or political manipulation. Reproductive freedom is not negotiable—it is fundamental to equality and justice.
And I strongly condemn Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that dehumanizes families and communities. Such divisive language undermines our nation’s values and weakens our social fabric. America is stronger when we embrace diversity and uphold the dignity of all who seek a better life here.
After having supported Joe Biden in 2020, I supported Kamala Harris in 2024 not because I expect perfection, but because she reflects a pragmatic path forward—one where democratic norms are restored, alliances rebuilt, and the slow but steady march of progress continues.
American exceptionalism means nothing if it is not matched by compassion and justice at home. To be a beacon abroad, we must be a beacon within.
________________________________________
Trump Didn’t Just Dodge the Draft—He Dodged the Meaning of America"
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized America—not from a place of constructive concern, but with disdain. He has described our country as a “mess,” claimed our cities are “rat infested hellholes,” and labeled our military “depleted” and “a disaster.”
He has attacked veterans and military heroes alike—most notoriously calling U.S. war dead “losers” and “suckers” during a 2018 trip to France, refusing to visit the Aisne Marne American Cemetery because, he reportedly said, “It’s filled with losers.” To former Chief of Staff John Kelly, Trump even asked, “What was in it for them?” as to why U.S. service members would have risk their lives to help liberate France.
He mocked Sen. John McCain’s military service, saying McCain was “not a war hero” because he had been captured, adding “I like people who weren’t captured.” And he insulted Gold Star families, ignored casualties, and refused to honor those who served—criticizing Medal of Honor recipients for being “in very bad shape” or already dead.
Such remarks aren't the worst mistakes—they reveal a character that disrespects sacrifice and prefers spectacle over substance. In rejecting the principles of honor, sacrifice, and accountability, Trump’s words and actions stand in stark opposition to the very responsibilities that define true American exceptionalism.
Trump’s contempt for military service contrasts sharply with the quiet patriotism of millions of Americans who uphold our ideals without fanfare or reward.
McCain, who knew something about sacrifice and duty from a war Trump avoided, put it best in one of his final rebukes of Trumpism:
“We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil. … To fear the world we have organized and led for three quarters of a century… to refuse the obligations of international leadership… is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past.”
________________________________________
Earth’s Last Best Hope—Unless We Let It Die
So to me, American Exceptionalism is both a shining beacon and a mirror. It is a light that should shine on the world, guiding others toward liberty, but also a mirror that forces us to examine our flaws and recommit to our ideals. It’s easy to call ourselves exceptional. It’s far harder to prove it—day after day, crisis after crisis.
When President Roosevelt was working on a speech shortly before he died in April 1945, he wrote, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” He was issuing a challenge: to believe in American greatness not as a birthright, but as a goal. Not as a guarantee, but as a duty.
That’s the kind of exceptionalism I believe in. Not arrogance. Not isolationism. But courage. Responsibility. And above all, faith in the ability of our country to rise, again and again, to meet the moment—not for glory, but for good.
In a world of uncertainty and challenge, let each of us commit to upholding the ideals that make America exceptional—through service, courage, and compassion.
Let us be exceptional in how we serve others. Let us be exceptional in how we defend freedom. And let us be exceptional in remembering that the real strength of America has always been its people—diverse, determined, and dedicated to the cause of a more perfect union.
But ideals without vigilance decay.
If we allow authoritarianism, cynicism, or fear-mongering to erode our democratic norms, we will lose more than power or prestige—we will lose our moral foundation. If we trade unity for division, justice for expedience, or compassion for indifference, we will betray the very values that made this nation exceptional.
Exceptionalism requires sacrifice, humility, and unwavering resolve. The moment we stop holding ourselves accountable—to our ideals and to each other—is the moment we begin to fade.
To be exceptional in how we serve others. To be exceptional in how we defend freedom. And to remember: the real strength of America has always been its people—diverse, determined, and dedicated to the promise of a more perfect union. Let us not let that promise slip away.
The moment we stop holding ourselves accountable—to our ideals and to each other—is the moment we begin to fade.
Today, Donald Trump threatens everything that has made this country great: our Constitution, the hard-won progress for women and minorities, and the freedoms we enjoy—freedoms that much of the world also cherishes—because of the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.Trump's contempt for our allies, our institutions, and the very foundations of democracy is not strength—it is a rejection of all that made America a shining beacon in the first place. More than just offensive, his words and actions are dangerous.
Yet amid these challenges at home, the world faces a growing threat that demands America’s leadership. In a world darkened by the rising tide of totalitarianism, only America has both the strength, the resolve, and the moral clarity to lead. Not because we are perfect, but because we are free—and because we fight to remain so.
So let us strive again be the shining city upon a hill, as President Ronald Reagan liked to say, whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere—not through domination, but through example; not with boastful pride, but with unyielding purpose; not with vengeance in our hearts, but with justice in our hands; not out of self-interest, but out of duty to humankind.
In 1862, at another moment when our nation’s future hung in the balance, President Abraham Lincoln called America “the last best hope of earth.” He meant a country willing to fight for liberty—not retreat from it.
That legacy is ours to protect.
Or to lose it, possibly forever.
________________________________________
(c) 2025. Becky Romero.
The author grants permission for her op-ed to be republished (only in full) in print or on the internet, with attribution and a link to BeckyRomero.com
As Sen. John McCain wrote, “What makes us exceptional? Our wealth? Our natural resources? Our military power? Our big, bountiful country? No, our founding ideals and our fidelity to them at home and in our conduct in the world make us exceptional.”
I believe America is exceptional not because we are perfect, but because we strive to improve. Our exceptionalism is rooted in our historic role as a defender of democracy, liberty, and human dignity. We are the country that helped defeat fascism in World War II, stood up to Soviet totalitarianism during the Cold War, and expanded civil rights at home when it would have been easier to maintain the status quo. American Exceptionalism, in my view, is not a statement of supremacy—it’s a call to stewardship.
American Exceptionalism is a solemn responsibility demanding moral leadership abroad and justice at home.
________________________________________
A Legacy of Leadership and Responsibility
I have often been influenced by the words of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who called the United States “the indispensable nation.” That idea captures the essence of what I believe: America’s power is not merely economic or military—it is moral. Our nation has the unique capacity and obligation to lead, especially when others will not.
That doesn’t mean we act alone. Leadership does not equal unilateralism. It means being the first to stand, even if others hesitate. It means using our influence to rally coalitions against tyranny, genocide, terrorism, and authoritarianism. It means offering hope to the oppressed and holding ourselves accountable to the same democratic standards we urge others to adopt.
I understand this may sound idealistic, especially in a time when skepticism of America’s role in the world runs deep—on both the left and the right. But exceptionalism isn’t about pretending we’ve never erred. It’s about learning from our failures and rising again to meet the moment.
________________________________________
A Nation Tested, a Generation Changed
Like so many others in my generation, my political awakening came on the morning of September 11, 2001. I was a teenager, just trying to get ready for high school. And then everything changed. Without warning, I was pulled out of the shower by my younger brother, naked and still dripping wet, and dragged by the arm to the living room where I then stood shocked and motionless in front of the TV shortly before the second hijacked plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The terror, the disbelief, and the grief I felt that morning reshaped me.
That was the day I stopped taking America’s safety for granted. It was also the day I began to see our nation as more than a place to live—it was an idea to defend. From that point on, I have viewed the world through a different lens: one where freedom must be guarded, and where America must remain prepared—not just with weapons and soldiers, but with moral clarity and democratic purpose.
I supported military actions against those responsible for 9/11, even when I later criticized the way some of those interventions were handled. I opposed Donald Trump’s disregard for democratic norms not just because I disagreed with his policies, but because I feared the precedent his authoritarian tendencies would set. When a violent mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, it felt like another 9/11—this time, a spiritual attack from within.
That day reminded me that American Exceptionalism is fragile. It must be defended not only against foreign enemies but against domestic forces that seek to dismantle our democratic institutions for personal gain.
That experience shaped my understanding that military action alone cannot secure the freedoms we cherish; our commitment must extend beyond the battlefield.
________________________________________
Commitment to Freedom Cannot End with Military Victory Alone
American Exceptionalism demands that when we go to war, we do so with clarity of purpose and a commitment to see the mission through—militarily, morally, and strategically.
The Gulf War in 1991 was a justified response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and a rare moment of international unity. But we stopped short. I believe it was a grave and avoidable mistake not to remove Hussein from power when we had the chance.
As British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher warned, “Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed—but they can never be appeased.” But her warning went unheeded. By allowing Hussein to remain in power, the George H. W. Bush administration gave him the opportunity to continue terrorizing his own people and threaten the stability of the region. That unfinished business planted the seeds of a much bloodier conflict a decade later.
In 2003, we finally removed that same dictator—but without a real plan for what would follow. The Iraq War, despite noble intentions, was carried out with poor postwar planning and no coherent reconstruction strategy. We created a power vacuum, and into it rushed insurgents, terrorists, and sectarian chaos.
I believe both conflicts—though opposite in many ways—share a tragic flaw: the unwillingness to finish what we started. As Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned during another war 75 years ago, “War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.”
________________________________________
A war worth waging must be a war worth winning—completely.
We made the same mistake in Afghanistan in 1989. After helping the Afghan people drive out the Soviets, we walked away, leaving behind wreckage, warlords, and despair. Congressman Charlie Wilson, who had worked tirelessly in securing funding for Afghan freedom fighters, pleaded with his colleagues to fund schools and infrastructure to stabilize Afghanistan, but we turned our backs. That neglect gave rise to the Taliban and the harboring of al-Qaeda, the very terrorist organization which attacked us on 9/11. We keep paying the price for wars we start but fail to finish.
And then, after two decades of occupation in the wake of 9/11 and poorly-funded and weak attempts at nation-building, we’ve abandoned the people of Afghanistan to the very Taliban despots who are once again subjugating women and girls to a status barely above total slavery.
If we are to be a moral force in the world, then our commitment to freedom cannot end with military victory. It must extend to what comes after—building peace, preventing power vacuums, and showing the people we claim to liberate that we won’t abandon them the moment the shooting stops.
________________________________________
Exceptionalism Requires Strength
I make no apologies for my hawkish views on national security. I support a significant increase in the defense budget, the expansion of our naval power, and stronger global alliances. But not because I want war. I want peace. And peace, historically, has only been secured when America projected strength—especially in the face of authoritarian aggression.
I’m an advocate for making Guam a U.S. state, not merely for symbolic reasons, but because it serves as a strategic deterrent against Chinese expansionism in the Pacific. I support arming Ukraine not because I want a prolonged war, but because we must show that democracy will not cower before tanks and tyrants. I believe the U.S. must prepare militarily to defend Taiwan because failing to do so would signal to authoritarian regimes everywhere that freedom is negotiable.
Let me be clear: I do not believe in fighting poorly planned endless wars without clear objectives. But I do believe that freedom, once lost, is nearly impossible to regain without an even greater sacrifice of blood and treasure. And if American Exceptionalism means anything, it means being the world’s firewall against tyranny—standing in the breach when others retreat.
________________________________________
Justice at Home, Leadership Abroad
My political values stress the need for a strong national defense, but they are equally committed to social justice and democratic reform. To lead the world, America must first be worth following.
My view of exceptionalism demands both outward strength and inward justice. If we proclaim freedom to the world while allowing our own people to suffer under inequality, voter suppression, or institutional discrimination, then we have failed the exceptionalism promise.
As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
In a 1968 interview with David Frost, just one month before his assassination, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was asked how he would like to be remembered. He responded thoughtfully, saying:
“Something about the fact that I made some contribution to either my country, or those who were less well off. I think back to what Camus wrote about the fact that perhaps this world is a world in which children suffer, but we can lessen the number of suffering children, and if you do not do this, then who will do this? I’d like to feel that I’d done something to lessen that suffering.”
Mahatma Gandhi said that the true measure of any society can be found in how it cares for its most vulnerable members. That’s why I firmly oppose any policies that slash Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or other essential programs for the young and the elderly. Such decisions betray our responsibility to ensure all Americans have access to the healthcare, housing, and support necessary to live with dignity.
It’s why I also support immediately raising the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour and indexing future increases automatically to inflation, expanding access to healthcare to all through a single-payer system, eliminating unfair burdens—like taxing tips or penalizing people for selling their own homes, allowing seniors on Social Security to continue to work without their benefits being cut, and ending the increasingly draconian ways in which the government delays or denies benefits to the medically disabled.
I believe deeply in respecting and strengthening the rights of women to make choices about our own bodies, free from government interference or political manipulation. Reproductive freedom is not negotiable—it is fundamental to equality and justice.
And I strongly condemn Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that dehumanizes families and communities. Such divisive language undermines our nation’s values and weakens our social fabric. America is stronger when we embrace diversity and uphold the dignity of all who seek a better life here.
After having supported Joe Biden in 2020, I supported Kamala Harris in 2024 not because I expect perfection, but because she reflects a pragmatic path forward—one where democratic norms are restored, alliances rebuilt, and the slow but steady march of progress continues.
American exceptionalism means nothing if it is not matched by compassion and justice at home. To be a beacon abroad, we must be a beacon within.
________________________________________
Trump Didn’t Just Dodge the Draft—He Dodged the Meaning of America"
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized America—not from a place of constructive concern, but with disdain. He has described our country as a “mess,” claimed our cities are “rat infested hellholes,” and labeled our military “depleted” and “a disaster.”
He has attacked veterans and military heroes alike—most notoriously calling U.S. war dead “losers” and “suckers” during a 2018 trip to France, refusing to visit the Aisne Marne American Cemetery because, he reportedly said, “It’s filled with losers.” To former Chief of Staff John Kelly, Trump even asked, “What was in it for them?” as to why U.S. service members would have risk their lives to help liberate France.
He mocked Sen. John McCain’s military service, saying McCain was “not a war hero” because he had been captured, adding “I like people who weren’t captured.” And he insulted Gold Star families, ignored casualties, and refused to honor those who served—criticizing Medal of Honor recipients for being “in very bad shape” or already dead.
Such remarks aren't the worst mistakes—they reveal a character that disrespects sacrifice and prefers spectacle over substance. In rejecting the principles of honor, sacrifice, and accountability, Trump’s words and actions stand in stark opposition to the very responsibilities that define true American exceptionalism.
Trump’s contempt for military service contrasts sharply with the quiet patriotism of millions of Americans who uphold our ideals without fanfare or reward.
McCain, who knew something about sacrifice and duty from a war Trump avoided, put it best in one of his final rebukes of Trumpism:
“We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil. … To fear the world we have organized and led for three quarters of a century… to refuse the obligations of international leadership… is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past.”
________________________________________
Earth’s Last Best Hope—Unless We Let It Die
So to me, American Exceptionalism is both a shining beacon and a mirror. It is a light that should shine on the world, guiding others toward liberty, but also a mirror that forces us to examine our flaws and recommit to our ideals. It’s easy to call ourselves exceptional. It’s far harder to prove it—day after day, crisis after crisis.
When President Roosevelt was working on a speech shortly before he died in April 1945, he wrote, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” He was issuing a challenge: to believe in American greatness not as a birthright, but as a goal. Not as a guarantee, but as a duty.
That’s the kind of exceptionalism I believe in. Not arrogance. Not isolationism. But courage. Responsibility. And above all, faith in the ability of our country to rise, again and again, to meet the moment—not for glory, but for good.
In a world of uncertainty and challenge, let each of us commit to upholding the ideals that make America exceptional—through service, courage, and compassion.
Let us be exceptional in how we serve others. Let us be exceptional in how we defend freedom. And let us be exceptional in remembering that the real strength of America has always been its people—diverse, determined, and dedicated to the cause of a more perfect union.
But ideals without vigilance decay.
If we allow authoritarianism, cynicism, or fear-mongering to erode our democratic norms, we will lose more than power or prestige—we will lose our moral foundation. If we trade unity for division, justice for expedience, or compassion for indifference, we will betray the very values that made this nation exceptional.
Exceptionalism requires sacrifice, humility, and unwavering resolve. The moment we stop holding ourselves accountable—to our ideals and to each other—is the moment we begin to fade.
To be exceptional in how we serve others. To be exceptional in how we defend freedom. And to remember: the real strength of America has always been its people—diverse, determined, and dedicated to the promise of a more perfect union. Let us not let that promise slip away.
The moment we stop holding ourselves accountable—to our ideals and to each other—is the moment we begin to fade.
Today, Donald Trump threatens everything that has made this country great: our Constitution, the hard-won progress for women and minorities, and the freedoms we enjoy—freedoms that much of the world also cherishes—because of the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.Trump's contempt for our allies, our institutions, and the very foundations of democracy is not strength—it is a rejection of all that made America a shining beacon in the first place. More than just offensive, his words and actions are dangerous.
Yet amid these challenges at home, the world faces a growing threat that demands America’s leadership. In a world darkened by the rising tide of totalitarianism, only America has both the strength, the resolve, and the moral clarity to lead. Not because we are perfect, but because we are free—and because we fight to remain so.
So let us strive again be the shining city upon a hill, as President Ronald Reagan liked to say, whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere—not through domination, but through example; not with boastful pride, but with unyielding purpose; not with vengeance in our hearts, but with justice in our hands; not out of self-interest, but out of duty to humankind.
In 1862, at another moment when our nation’s future hung in the balance, President Abraham Lincoln called America “the last best hope of earth.” He meant a country willing to fight for liberty—not retreat from it.
That legacy is ours to protect.
Or to lose it, possibly forever.
________________________________________
(c) 2025. Becky Romero.
The author grants permission for her op-ed to be republished (only in full) in print or on the internet, with attribution and a link to BeckyRomero.com
36-40, F
