No sources. Uses history as a substitute for analysis, not a source.

A refreshing paean to American resiliency. Not terribly informative and quite facile, but it is worthwhile noting what the U.S. has that works - including a justified outrage about shenanigans, like the extreme politicization of the DOJ, which are yawners in most countries around the world, including many democracies.

Rosy and overly general commentary extolling naive American exceptionalism. Responds to straw-man third world critics as if they had much to compare themselves against. Unfortunately, nothing to indicate any balance via which we might actually learn from other countries, many of which are developed and also criticize us, say, Germany, France, Canada, England etc. Precious few specifics are given. The author is basically saying, don't worry be happy. Pretty thin. Really just a thinly-veiled ego stroke for right-wingers who don't want to change their lifestyles on much that matters.

Makes a number of claims without presenting evidence to back them up. The American system of government has been amazingly resilient though, and is likely to continue as such for the forseeable future, on sheer momentum if nothing else. Our own self-criticisim and the belief that we can do better is certainly one of our greatest strengths, as the author states in the end.

This is a clear view of the standing of the United States today. Victor Davis Hanson is an expert on the history of ancient Greece who here provides an able analysis of the status of the U.S. in the world. He notes the recent replacement of anti-American leaders in Germany and France with strongly pro-American leaders, which has also happened in Canada and Sweden and at the United Nations. The U.S. policies are right for the current world and people around the world are aware of this, even if they can tend to answer simplistic polls by saying that are against the U.S. The author correctly notes the weaknesses of the countries that are thought to be stronger and pursuing policies more correct than those of the U.S., such as China ... More »

Victor presents a, look at the big picture, article that places American acomplishments and present day challneges in historical and geo-political context. A little reassuring for me frankly. Maybe...just maybe everything will be ok. :)

An optimistic historian. After all the cheap generalizations, he comes down on the side of discussion and on the optimistic view that we have always been able to invent our way out of it before. I find the polyanna assessment of our current state of affairs less than honest but the piece challenges us to work through it, an honorable opinion to put on the table. We should remember the shallowness of the argument if he tries to be more impressive elsewhere.

A historian able to take the long view says this period of national self-doubt will pass and American exceptionalism put the country back in the driver's seat. Perhaps he has looked in the crystal ball and seen Teddy Kennedy's coffin being lowered into the ground as mourners pour out the contents of aged Scotch to see him on his way

If I had written this article, I would have dealt with the Civil War at length, and thereby lost a lot of readers after the second paragraph. Hanson's approach is better. He's trying to provide some relevant historical perspective. His optimism is not Pollyanna off her leash, but realistic expectations. -- Yes, Hanson can be a bit of shock to the system, as he's not a Doomster like Paul Ehrlich (remember the Global Famine man?) or one of those "experts" who told us thirty-five or forty years ago killer glaciers were on the way. That makes him alien to many readers; after all, why is this guy bothering us, if he has no bad news? But don't ignore him because he brings unwelcome reminders of past triumphs over dire prophesies, and ... More »

The long view and "the big picture" are what this story is about. He makes it clear that it is the pessimists and the left that are the provincials; they can see only our problems, and not those of the rest of the world.