"The idea that life is not meant to be endeaurd by enjoyed. The idea that if we have dignity, if we have justice, leave it to us; we'll do the rest."
Yes!!

The essence of the idea of America was stated best by George Mason in his Virginia Declaration of Rights
"A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS made by the representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free convention which rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government .

Section 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgini...

Without property rights, which should be absolute in my view, the others are rendered meaningless.

It takes a rock star to point out the meaning of America. I wish he had the same forum as when U2 was at the top.

Sadly most people miss the "idea" part.

There is no such freedom, however. No country exists without borders and enforcement of them. It's a complete myth to believe otherwise.

Over whom does the Constitution preside? The People of the United States of America. Yes, it absolutely espouses principles at its core and it is those principles to which we claim allegiance rather than a 200+ year-old piece of parchment. The problem is that those of other nations have sworn their allegiance to their own governments - not ours. The Constitution to them is a curiosity or scholarly paper rather than a foundational document of freedom. They hold no allegiance to those principles, however, except indirectly where those principles coincide with those of their own country.

Let us also remember that freedom is not inherent. It comes with responsibilities of action to act in defense of that freedom. It is not an unlimited entitlement, but an honorarium paid for by that oath of allegiance and continued action on the part of the individual: to vote, to pay taxes, to serve on a jury, etc. We are not afforded the protections of the Constitution until the time that we swear by it and act to uphold it. That we may be treated as guests is true, but we should be under no false assumptions about our status.

The Gulch was no different. Dagny was permitted to stay as a guest for a time, but she was also informed that all who wanted to stay in the Gulch were required to take the oath. There is no difference between that and a nation.

An idea is when one thinks it to him or herself, and keeps it there. But when that same idea is spread out to the masses, that is when the arguments start flying. It is truly a shame that as a people we can NEVER agree on anything forever.

Travel freely is kind of vague. Do you mean travel at will or at whim or simply to go where you want?

Great Video thanks for the post. Also very true.

The truth is throughout human history man has lived for death. A slow rotting death while living. America was the first place to say that men had that right to live for their lives, for life. We seem to have abandoned that idea.

I have always believed that America was an idea and not a geographic location. Even though I spent 21 years defending this once great place in the US Navy, I am ready to take my ideal somewhere else and live my dream, as I can no longer say that I can find it here in the good ol' USA. My biggest problem is that as a military retiree I cannot give up US citizenship or I lose my retirement pension, which is a major portion of my retirement funds. So, I am unfortunately tied to the US Dollar $$$ and the monetary death spiral that the US Government and the Federal Reserve have us in.

maybe he should have stood in the congress when he spoke.