“The American Way” — What It Meant, and What It Means Today

When we were young, my brother I loved the made-for-children television drama “Superman,” the intro for which included the idea that our caped hero “stands for truth, justice, and the American way.”

It’s funny that, looking back on those days, nobody growing up us seemed to wonder what the phrase “the American way” actually meant.  We all took it for granted that our country was the greatest on Earth, and thus, our “way” must be better and more righteous then anyone else’s.

This made eminent sense at the time–not only to us children, but to the “grown-ups” as well.

Shortly before we baby-boomers were born, our fathers had come home from World War II, having successfully saved human civilization from the scourge of fascism in Europe.  Long before the conflict was over, and possibly before it had begun, it was clear that fascism, like a cancer, with its fearsome power to destroy life, would have metastasized if the United States hadn’t joined the international fight for democracy and basic human rights.

Post war, our nation eagerly entered into an era of prosperity that would springboard off the advancements of the Depression Era: the New Deal, Social Security, and Medicare, that held the potential not only to reduce poverty greatly, but, by setting the stage for numerous further advancements, e.g., the Equal Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, might enable the United States to lead the world into a new epoch of affluence and human decency.

On top of, within moments after the end of the war, the U.S. sign the bipartisan G.I. Bill, providing low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business or farm, one year of unemployment compensation, and dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college, or vocational school.

We took all this to heights never seen in human history.

If you can stomach it, at the left is what “the American way” means today.