Letters to the Editor
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Exceptionalism
What I find interesting is that the Founders were pretty cynical about America's prospects. Franklin said "It's a republic if you can keep it" and Jefferson thought the entire system would have to be scrapped and restarted every 20 years or so. They had a dim (or realistic, if you prefer) view of human nature in general, and Democracy in particular, a view largely upheld by history.
I'm not sure when that viewpoint began to fade, but it seems to me that we are now at the point where attempts to return to the original views of the Founders are seen as unpatriotic. Nobody wants to question our feet of clay.
Both parties have bought into slightly different notions of Exceptionalism that at the core are identical. We are now a chosen people, instead of being merely favored by that divine providence, and each generation inherits this exceptionalism instead of earning it anew through our actions.
IM!HO This election cycle offers us a crossoroads where we could strike out in a new direction, maybe we can even head Back to the Future.