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Opinion

Here's Why So Many Americans Hate Their Own Country: How Our Two Views of America Came from the Civil War Era

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Today, on its 249th anniversary, the Declaration of Independence has devolved into a source of dispute between two contending parties.

On one side stand millions of American patriots who love their country and its history. To them, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed universal truths that made the American experiment in self-government special. Without shielding their eyes from the myriad injustices their ancestors either committed or tolerated, modern patriots regard that experiment, on the whole, as wildly successful and thus worthy of celebration.

On the other side, one finds disgruntled Americans who, when asked, express shame in their country. In some cases, they might give their intellectual assent to the Declaration’s “self-evident” truths. But they regard the Declaration, by and large, as riddled with hypocrisies and thus best ignored. To them, all of American history reduces to a story of oppressors and their victims.

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.




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