... and ring in a New Nationalism a la Teddy Roosevelt.
by Robert Lyon
July 10, 2012
Winning Words on the Progressive Business Message:
Being conservative or progressive has nothing to do with appreciating the role of business in society. The progressive view of business is about responsibility and patriotism, and has a distinctive pro-American flavor. In this edition of the Winning Words Project, we channel President Obama's rhetorical style to present the full-throated progressive message on business.
Readers may recognize the first few paragraphs. President Obama's signature vision of a truly United States of America, where all people and groups hold their duty to country and each other above self-interest — e pluribus unim — applies equally well to American businesses.
The audience for this message includes moderates and persuadable voters who wonder why Democrats care so much about how much businesses contribute to our society in taxes and workers' wages. This speech makes it clear that it's Mitt Romney's Republicans who are quibbling over how big of a slice of our economic pie goes to Romney and his friends; the Democratic Party cares about how businesses can work FOR America to increase the size of our economic pie to benefit everyone.
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Our Obama-inspired business pitch ...
Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our trees, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy; our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
That is the true genius of America, a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that anyone with a good idea and drive can start a business, even if they don't inherit a fortune from their wealthy parents.
We have more work to do, for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who lost their union jobs at the Maytag plant that moved to Mexico, and now they have to compete with their own children for jobs that pay 7 bucks an hour.
Now, don't get me wrong, the people I meet in small towns and big cities and diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all of their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead. And they do.
Alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are all connected as one people.
It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family: "E pluribus unum," out of many, one.
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