Submitted by Julie McCarty, True Texas Project CEO
Rush Limbaugh wrote a wonderful series of patriotic children’s books designed to teach kids history and a love for America. They are based on a time-traveling horse named Rush Revere, and they are enjoyable for the whole family, young and old. In fact, this series is what sparked my child’s passion for history as a homeschooled student.
My husband and daughter reenacting the “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it” scene at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall
At the beginning of Book One, Rush penned a Note From The Author explaining what American Exceptionalism means. I’ve quoted it in every history class I’ve taught since then, including the Certified True Texan youth version of our Constitution Boot Camp class.
Being the 250th Birthday of America, and given that a certain NYC Mayor got the idea of American Exceptionalism all wrong this week, I thought today is a good day to review what the great Rush Limbaugh wrote. What a gift he left to our nation.
You can listen in as I read it to a class here (go to the 2:15 minute mark and listen for 3 1/2 minutes):
Or you can simply read it yourself here:
Or here:
A Note from the Author
We live in the greatest country on earth, the United States of America. But what makes it so great? Why do some call the United States a miracle? How did we become such a tremendous country in such a short period of time? After all, the United States is less than 250 years old!
I want to try to help you understand what “American Exceptionalism” and greatness is all about. It does not mean that we Americans are better than anyone else. It does not mean that there is something uniquely different about us as human beings compared to other people in the world. It does not mean that we as a country have never faced problems of our own.
American Exceptionalism and greatness means that America is special because it is different from all other countries in history. It is a land built on true freedom and individual liberty and it defends both around the world. The role of the United States is to encourage individuals to be the best that they can be, to try to improve their lives, reach their goals, and make their dreams come true. In most parts of the world, dreams never become more than dreams. In the United States, they come true every day. There are so many stories of Americans who started with very little, yet dreamed big, worked very hard, and became extremely successful.
The sad reality is that since the beginning of time, most citizens of the world have not been free. For hundreds and thousands of years, many people in other civilizations and countries were servants to their kings, leaders, and government. It didn’t matter how hard these people worked to improve their lives, because their lives were not their own. They often feared for their lives and could not get out from under a ruling class no matter how hard they tried. Many of these people lived and continue to live in extreme poverty, with no clean water, limited food, and none of the luxuries that we often take for granted. Many citizens in the world were punished, sometimes severely, for having their own ideas, beliefs, and hopes for a better future.
The United States of America is unique because it is the exception to all this. Our country is the first country ever to be founded on the principle that all human beings are created as free people. The Founders of this phenomenal country believed all people were born to be free as individuals. And so, they established a government and leadership that recognized and established this for the first time ever in the world! America is a place where the individual person serves himself and his family, not the king, or ruling class, or government. America is a place where you can think, believe, and express yourself as you want. You can dream as big as you can and nothing is holding you back.
This book on the Pilgrims is part of the great tale of how the United States of America came to be. The Pilgrims came to our shores more than a century and a half before our country was established in 1776, but their reasons for coming to the “New World” helped to sow the seeds of our nation. The story of the Pilgrims and their arrival in the “New World” has been taught for hundreds of years and in that time the story has been tweaked and changed by people to the point that it is often misunderstood. I want you to know the real story. What really happened, who the Pilgrims really were, and what they did when they arrived.
Let me introduce you to my good buddy Rush Revere! Together, we are going to rush, rush, rush into history and the story of the Pilgrims!
America is exceptional, and she is worth defending. Keep up the good work, True Texans! Now go read this book series to your family!