American Spirit - Bryant McGill

# American Spirit **Domain:** Cultural Expression / Renegade Creation **Series:** [[american/American Ethos - Simple Reminders on Real American Pride|Simple Reminders on Real American Pride]] ## Definition The American spirit is the disciplined renegade impulse that refuses inherited limits and then accepts responsibility for what it creates. It can appear in a rocket factory, a recording studio, a novel, a company, a laboratory, or a loud shirt worn by a builder who has earned the freedom to ignore the costume of seriousness. Palmer Luckey, Elon Musk, Gene Simmons, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Ahmad Jamal, and generations of American originals differ in manner; they meet in their refusal to surrender the work to convention. Wildness becomes valuable when it is joined to mastery, service, and affection for the country that made the experiment possible. The rebel earns a place in the American tradition by building something the tradition can carry forward. ## Place in the American System This node belongs to [[collections/American|the American Collection]] and interprets [[american/American Aesthetic - The American Spirit Aesthetic|The American Spirit Aesthetic]] and [[american/American Ethos - The Next 250|The Next 250]]. Its quotations remain sourced and editorially explained in [[american/American Ethos - Simple Reminders on Real American Pride|Simple Reminders on Real American Pride]]; their permanent poster objects appear below. ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Draw the box big around all of society, and you’ll find that invention is the root of all real value creation.” > **— Jeff Bezos**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Invention and Real Value Creation by Jeff Bezos|Invention and Real Value Creation by Jeff Bezos]] > “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great—and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about.” > **— Elon Musk**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Waking to a Great Future by Elon Musk|Waking to a Great Future by Elon Musk]] > “Sometimes life’s gonna hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” > **— Steve Jobs**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Do Not Lose Faith by Steve Jobs|Do Not Lose Faith by Steve Jobs]] > “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” > **— Steve Jobs**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/A Limited Life and an Original Path by Steve Jobs|A Limited Life and an Original Path by Steve Jobs]] > “I believe in taking a first principles, physics-based approach to analysis and my analysis of the situation is that dramatic improvements are possible on the automotive side and on the photovoltaic side.” > **— Elon Musk**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/First Principles and Dramatic Improvement by Elon Musk|First Principles and Dramatic Improvement by Elon Musk]] > “I believe that the most important single thing beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.” > **— Maya Angelou**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Daring to Dare by Maya Angelou|Daring to Dare by Maya Angelou]] > “The point is to have a career, to write because you’re absolutely mesmerized by the subject, in a way that serves the subject.” > **— Toni Morrison**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/A Career in Service to the Subject by Toni Morrison|A Career in Service to the Subject by Toni Morrison]] > “Literature, sensitive as a tuning fork, is an unblinking witness to the light and shade of the world we live in.” > **— Toni Morrison**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Literature as an Unblinking Witness by Toni Morrison|Literature as an Unblinking Witness by Toni Morrison]] > “The free market made KISS possible. It made America the greatest country on Earth.” > **— Gene Simmons**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/The Free Market and the American Stage by Gene Simmons|The Free Market and the American Stage by Gene Simmons]] > “I don’t believe that we create; we discover.” > **— Ahmad Jamal**, *Simple Reminders on Real American Pride* [[reminders/American Spirit/Discovery Before Creation by Ahmad Jamal|Discovery Before Creation by Ahmad Jamal]] > The Department of Homeland Security states the continuity between national defense, disaster response, and American prosperity: “Together, we are committed to relentless resilience, striving to prevent future attacks against the United States and our allies, responding decisively to natural and manmade disasters, and advancing American prosperity and economic security long into the future.” > > **— U.S. Department of Homeland Security**, *DHS Strategic Plan* [[reminders/Resilience/Relentless Resilience for American Prosperity by U.S. Department of Homeland Security|Relentless Resilience for American Prosperity by U.S. Department of Homeland Security]] > The Director of National Intelligence states the international consequence of American strength: “We recognize that a strong America is better positioned to lead, work with, and support our allies and partners around our shared interests of peace, security, and prosperity.” > > **— Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence**, *Remarks at the Munich Security Conference* [[reminders/Leadership/A Strong America Is Better Positioned to Lead by Tulsi Gabbard|A Strong America Is Better Positioned to Lead by Tulsi Gabbard]]  ## American System Connections [[wiki/American Moral Code|American Moral Code]] allows renegade character without releasing it from service, responsibility, or truth. [[wiki/National Capability Culture|National Capability Culture]] explains why the wild American prototype belongs inside the national tradition when originality produces real capability.