We were founded on an idea (genocide and slavery), but sometimes we fail to live up to it (by not genociding and enslaving literally everyone on earth yet)
The USA was founded on the idea that only rich white males had any rights. While they appear to fail to live up to that idea on paper, the reality is that is still the case
Probably my least favorite Amerikkkan brainworm flavor is saying the Founding Fathers were some arbiters of freedom. They were slave owners who didn't think anyone except rich white landowning men should be allowed to vote, what's so free about that? Except of course for the implicit admission that that's what they like.
It's also connected to the belief that every other historical figure has to be perfect except for the precious Founding Fathers. Marx or Castro did a bad thing once? They're bad forever, but being an actual slave owner can be brushed under the rug with the usual excuses.
