The United States sees itself as a unique country and as “a city on a hill,” which means it sees itself as a beacon of hope because it accepts everyone in a unique situation compared to other countries. At one point the United States was a new country with a clean slate. The United States had potential that could never have been predicted back then. America was a country full of hopes and dreams that gave its migrants a lot of hope for a new and better life. America has succeeded in achieving its goals as it is often referred to as the “land of opportunity.” The Colonies then wanted to be different from Britain. When they first colonized America they hoped to do better for its citizens than Great Britain did. The United States hoped to avoid religious persecution and blind loyalty to a monarch. They hoped that America would be a country open to all who seek an opportunity to start over and live a better life. They achieved their goals even if it took some time. The United States now has free speech and is a republic, so it would never fear a king or queen forcing us to follow their every command for no reason. Citizens of the United States are free to practice whatever religion or tradition they desire, if any, without the worry of legal persecution or being judged for our cultural choices... for the most part. The United States is a unique country because it was the first country to gain independence from the motherland. Since gaining independence they have had to get used to being alone, which has required them to look for new ways to try to stabilize themselves. Because of this, the United States has been able to position itself at a higher standard than other countries because it has established the idea that the people should have the greatest say in what happens in their country. America is governed by the people, not the state, not by a group of elites, and certainly not by a single individual. The United States is undoubtedly the strongest country in the world because it has been able to control the people with a strong federal government but not in a monarchical way, which many countries fail to do. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One thing I have discovered while studying US history that supports this view is that the US faces horrible things but always finds a way to overcome them like when Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery and gave hope to millions of slaves who the worst part was over and that the time had come to move on to better times. No matter what problem the United States faces, it will overcome it because there is hope here for a better future, and my favorite example of this is Barack Obama being the first black president. This is a great example because Obama was elected president in 2009, but 45 years earlier, in 1964, segregation had just ended. This meant that 45 years before Obama was elected, Barack Obama would not even be able to go to school with white people and would never be able to lead a country with a majority white population. I believe we are still a city on a hill, we may have bad times like our gun control problem, but one day we will overcome it and create better laws because there is still hope for us to get better. Today we face many challenges and for this reason our original goals have changed slightly. The United States is no longer a place that welcomes everyone with open arms because it is too dangerous for a nation.