Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create accountGet a free audiobook when you make the switch!
When you start a new membership in support of local bookstores with the promo code SWITCH, you’ll get a bonus audiobook credit at sign-up.
Make the switchGift audiobook credit bundles
You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.
Start giftingA Nation like No Other
“Belief in American Exceptionalism leads inexorably to a smaller, more effective, accountable, and limited government. The American revolutionaries did not shed their blood for the welfare state; nor did they aim to replace the arbitrary rule of King George and his ‘multitude of New Offices’ and ‘swarms of Officers,’ as stated in the Declaration of Independence, with their own oppressive bureaucracy. Instead, they fought for individual liberty—and that made America an exception among all other nations.”
—from the introduction
It’s become fashionable among the liberal elite to downplay, deride, even deny America’s greatness. The political correctness police insist that America is hated around the world for being too big, too powerful, too rich, too successful, too loud, too intrusive. And besides, it’s not nice to brag.
They are completely missing the point.
America’s greatness, America’s exceptional greatness, is not based on the fact that we are the most powerful, most prosperous—and most generous—nation on earth. Rather, those things are the result of American Exceptionalism.
To understand American Exceptionalism, as Newt Gingrich passionately argues in A Nation like No Other, one must understand our unique birth as a nation. American Exceptionalism is found in the simple yet utterly remarkable principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence, “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.”
Our nation is exceptional, continues Newt, because we—unlike any nation before or since—are united by the belief and the promise that no king, no government, no ruling class has the power to infringe upon the rights of the individual. And when such a government attempts to do so, we will vigorously reject them.
Sadly, many politicians and leaders today have forgotten our sacred commitment to these ideals. Our government has strayed alarmingly far from the scope of limited powers framed by our Founders. Meanwhile, the liberal media seek out, and sometimes create, stories intended to portray America as a bully and a thief. Even our own president seems clueless, assuring us that yes, yes, he believes in American exceptionalism, just like the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism and the British in British exceptionalism.
But American Exceptionalism is not about cheerleading for the home team. It’s about recognizing and honoring the history-making, world-changing ideals our Founding Fathers enshrined to make this a nation of the people, by the people, for the people. And, as Lincoln warned, we must rededicate ourselves to those principles, lest our truly exceptional nation perish from this earth.
Jackie Gingrich Cushman is a syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate. She is the author of two books, 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, and The Essential American: 25 Documents and Speeches Every American Should Own. For over 16 years, she has served on the board of directors, volunteered and assisted Our House, a homeless shelter for newborns and their families. She also serves on the board of the Trust for Public Land and GEEARS (Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students). Jackie served as a senior advisor and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich in the Republican Presidential primary for the 2012 election. She holds the CFA designation and the National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow designation. She lives in Georgia.
Jackie Gingrich Cushman is a syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate. She is the author of two books, 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, and The Essential American: 25 Documents and Speeches Every American Should Own. For over 16 years, she has served on the board of directors, volunteered and assisted Our House, a homeless shelter for newborns and their families. She also serves on the board of the Trust for Public Land and GEEARS (Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students). Jackie served as a senior advisor and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich in the Republican Presidential primary for the 2012 election. She holds the CFA designation and the National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow designation. She lives in Georgia.
Speaker Newt Gingrich is well known as the architect of the "Contract with America" that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. Newt is the founder of the Center for Health Transformation, General Chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the National Defense University, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Newt is also a news and political analyst for the Fox News Channel. As an author, Speaker Gingrich has published eighteen books, including ten fiction and non-fiction New York Times best-sellers. He resides in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Callista Gingrich.
Reviews
“[Gingrich] shows us how faith and family hold the American tapestry together, and does not flinch from naming those who would see it unravel.”
“Recommended for fans of history, politics, and right-wing manifestos.”
Expand reviews