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97 Pol. Sci. Q. 1 (1982-1983)

handle is hein.journals/pclscceqry97 and id is 1 raw text is: American Ideals versus American Institutions SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON Throughout the history of the United States a broad consensus has existed among the American people in support of liberal, democratic, in- dividualistic, and egalitarian values. These political values and ideals constitute what Gunnar Myrdal termed the American Creed, and they have provided the core of American national identity since the eighteenth century. Also throughout American history, political institutions have reflected these values but have always fallen short of realizing them in a satisfactory manner. A gap has always existed between the ideals in which Americans believed and the in- stitutions that embodied their practice. This gap between ideals and institutional practice has generated continuing disharmony between the normative and ex- istential dimensions of American politics. Being human, Americans have never been able to live up to their ideals; being Americans, they have also been unable to abandon them. They have instead existed in a state of national cognitive dissonance, which they have attempted to relieve through various combinations of moralism, cynicism, complacency, and hypocrisy. The burr under the sad- dle, as Robert Penn Warren called it, and the efforts to remove that burr have been central features of American politics, defining its dynamics and shape, since at least the eighteenth century and perhaps before. The question now is: Will the gap between ideals and institutional practices and the responses to it SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON is Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs and director of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. During 1977-1978 he served at the White House as coordinator of security planning for the National Security Council. His many books include The Soldier and the State; The Common Defense; Political Order in Changing Societies; and most recently American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, from which this article is adapted. Political Science Quarterly Volume97 Number 1 Spring 1982

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