No. of Recommendations: 12
Lets start the list then.
1. Patriotism
2. Self Reliance
3. Respect for the rights of others
4. Rule of Law
5. Equal Justice under the law
In addition to some of the other points raised, though, I think the problem with the above is that none of these values are uniquely American values. Virtually every country aspires to them - or at least claims to. Whether Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Australia, Finland....you name it. These are nearly universal attributes of good government - at least at that level of generality.
Different countries and societies - and political factions within those nations - disagree about what, specifically, these general principles mean. Sometimes intensely. And political parties disagree over who has the better claim to be supporting them - whether a person who seeks to improve their country is more patriotic than someone who claims that any faults are minor, whether a system of public highways or universal health care enables people to be more self-reliant or less, whether tightly restricting gun ownership and/or abortion is respect for the rights of others or trampling them.....these are disagreements more about what those values mean and require of citizens, rather than disagreements over whether those are values we share and aspire to.
