Berkley Center

America is not the country in which we live, but rather a story we tell ourselves about ourselves. As Americans, we are bound by a set of communal values, independence embodied by the self-made man and a belief that this nation is exceptional, underscored by a contradictory axiom: Things will be better tomorrow, but things will never be as good as they used to be.

Defined by the American dream, the self-made man is Twain’s Huck Finn and President Richard Nixon. We rise above our beginnings so that our children may rise further. Bound up in this pride in our success is the belief that such progress, such possibility, is only possible here in America. Relaying his own narrative, President Obama said “in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” The belief that our country is fundamentally distinct from others traces back to an unparalleled political creation experience. This conviction spurred us to reach higher again and again, reinforcing the very belief on which our actions were predicated. Yet our pride in our beginnings finds us often looking backward.

Impulses of discovery and progress are countered by our draw of nostalgia. Notions of “the good old days” change from generation to generation; likely, our grandchildren will wistfully read ‘Game Change’ and wish for our politics as we wish for those of our grandparents. Shared nostalgia is a critical point on the landscape of values each candidate must navigate- hope for the future must be balanced by statements of respect for the past. New initiatives are often named a “return to” something, a way to balance this yearning for the past with our affection for reinvention. Even in the current climate of frustration with our government, our pride in our political foundations is as strong as ever. Despite challenges of income inequality and a changing global role, Americans still believe that this is the place where hard work can breed success.

Our relationship with these values - independence, exceptionalism, progress, and nostalgia - is not simple. We struggle to better understand them and find unity within them. They can be invoked for narrative effect, only to have the frame contradict the reality. At best they offer a core set of beliefs not unlike our personal journeys of faith: we stray at times, but hopefully arrive back at these values recommitted and wiser than before.