June 19, 2012
American Exceptionalism: a short history
Uri Friedman at Foreign Policy:
On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney contrasts his vision of American greatness with what he claims is Barack Obama's proclivity for apologizing for it. The "president doesn't have the same feelings about American exceptionalism that we do," Romney has charged. All countries have their own brand of chest-thumping nationalism, but almost none is as patently universal -- even messianic -- as this belief in America's special character and role in the world. While the mission may be centuries old, the phrase only recently entered the political lexicon, after it was first uttered by none other than Joseph Stalin. Today the term is experiencing a resurgence in an age of anxiety about American decline.
More here.
Posted by Zujaja Tauqeer at 04:55 AM | Permalink
Comments
Serendipity... At the same time this was being posted I Tweeted "According to Amnesty International, a watchdog group, today it is easier to
trade in weapons than in bananas." http://t.co/EjcGbbkK Together these two links make a chicken and egg picture.
Posted by: John Ballard | Jun 19, 2012 5:06:20 AM
Don't forget the part that jingoism plays in this form of dementia (self delusion).
Posted by: Dredd | Jun 19, 2012 10:32:04 AM
These days what's so special?
-America starts wars like some other nations
-America practices torture like some other nations
-America protects it's turf like any other nation
-Americans love money and many are as chronically greedy as folks of other of other nations
-America forgets its poor like many other nations
-America flirts with theocracy in the manner of some other nations
-America now has Citizens United legalized political graft smilar to some other nations
-America has a politicized high court like other nations
-America does not have universal health care like many other enlightened nations
-America's police are sometimes as racist and brutal as those of other nations
-Americans are often as xenophobic as people of other nations
-Americans disrespect intellect like anti-intellectuals in other nations
-American exceptionalism is as unexceptional as similiar sentiments of any other nation or religion
-Etc.
America has been and remains a place of exceptional potential, millions of Americans still have their heads screwed on straight, but America has been chipping away at its so-called exceptionalism for some time now.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 19, 2012 9:34:19 PM
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