A Nation Like No Other, by Speaker Newt Gingrich: on Principles & Values
Joseph Cao:
1975: taken in by Indiana family as Vietnamese refugee
In the southeast Asian refugee crisis of 1975, with the fall of south Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to the Communists, millions of those nations' citizens fled their new dictatorships. American civil society answered the call, assisting refugees'
resettlement in countless ways. Churches, synagogues, military families, and civic groups petitioned to sponsor evacuees. Within the days of their arrival on American shores, refugees were placed with sponsors throughout the nation. Generous and capable,
American civil society helped to cultivate new and proud Americans. One of these refugees, Joseph Cao, recently represented New Orleans in the U.S. Congress. Having left Vietnam as a boy, Cao and his family were taken in "by a Lutheran family, the
Shrocks family in Goshen, Indiana," with whom they lived for four years. Although Cao's story is not unique, it is emblematic of the vital--and often invisible--role civil society plays in American lives.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p.125-126
Jun 13, 2011
Newt Gingrich:
American Exceptionalism is central to our nation's survival
"A Nation Like No Other" is dedicated to the proposition that American Exceptionalism is so central to our nation's survival that every generation must learn why being an American is a unique and precious experience. "A Nation Like No Other" reflects my
belief that American Exceptionalism is so censored that too many Americans no longer understand why their country is both exceptional and an exception to the form and practice of government in all other countries. The facts are all on our side.
America is simply the most extraordinary nation in the history. This is not a statement of nationalist hubris. It is an historic fact. America is exceptional indeed, yet our cultural heritage, our unique habits of liberty that have made us such a
successful society, are now being threatened by a combination of centralized bureaucracies, leftwing ideologies, destructive litigation, and an elite view that American Exceptionalism is no longer acceptable or even permissible.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p. 13
Jun 13, 2011
Newt Gingrich:
Declaration assumes God created man
One of the Declaration's most famous passages proclaims, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...." This assertion makes some key assumptions about
the relationship between man and God: It assumes that God created man. It assumes that God is sovereign over the universe. It assumes that man must obey an order of justice that God has instituted. That order of justice requires all men and women to honor
each other's natural rights, because these rights are an unalienable endowment from the Almighty. When someone violates another's rights, he is not merely breaking the law, he is violating God's grant of protection. This points to two additional
assumptions underlying the Declaration: first, that if our rights are given by a divine Creator, then there is a divine plan for humanity; and second, that since all men are equal before God, they should be legally and politically equal as well.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p. 21
Jun 13, 2011
Newt Gingrich:
Five habits of liberty sustain American Exceptionalism
Looking through 400 years of American history, we find five habits of liberty that have been crucial to sustaining American Exceptionalism.
They are: faith and family, work, civil society, rule of law, and safety and peace. Tempering man's worst impulses, these distinctly
American habits are vital to cultivating an engaged, informed citizenry, which is needed to sustain a free republic and secure the unalienable rights asserted in the Declaration of Independence.
The emphasis on these habits set America apart from its European counterparts, where monarchs were intent on cultivating passive, obedient subjects unlikely to change their ruler's claim to power.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p. 42
Jun 13, 2011
Newt Gingrich:
Start speaking out in favor of American Exceptionalism
Ten Steps to Restoring American Exceptionalism: Instead of waiting for government to reform itself, we should immediately start living our lives every day in ways that promote freedom, personal responsibility, and self-government. Here are ten thing
you can do to help America's future be as exceptional as its past. - Learn about American history, exceptional Americans, and America's founding principles.
- Speak out. Once you feel confident in your knowledge, start speaking out in favor of
American Exceptionalism.
- Question governmental authority at every turn.
- Teach the children around you.
- Insist on schools that teach responsibility and the fundamentals of American citizenship.
- Defeat and replace bad judges.
-
Reestablish the work ethic.
- Celebrate American holidays: Memorial Day; Veterans Day; the Fourth of July; Thanksgiving.
- Volunteer in your community.
- Run for office. Your country needs you.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p.190-196
Jun 13, 2011
Ronald Reagan:
Civilized ideas are rooted in the belief in a Supreme Being
Reagan stressed the primacy of the spiritual struggle against Communism. In 1981, Reagan issued this rallying cry: "For the West, for America, the time has come to dare to show to the world that our civilized ideas, our traditions, our values, are not--
like the ideology and war machine of totalitarian societies-- just a facade of strength. It is time for the world to know our intellectual and spiritual values are rooted in the source of all strength, a belief in a Supreme Being, and a law higher than
our own."Similarly, in his "Evil Empire" speech in 1983, Reagan declared, "The source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material, but spiritual. And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those
who would enslave their fellow man." When human freedom and dignity were under assault during the Cold War, Reagan knew that the spiritual nature of man and the freedom to know God where central to defining humanity and decisive in defeating tyranny.
Source: A Nation Like No Other, by Newt Gingrich, p. 85
Jun 13, 2011
Page last updated: Feb 19, 2019