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American Exceptionalism

Do you believe in American exceptionalism?

  • Total voters
    55
Catz Part Deux said:
Do you believe that the U.S. has done more for democracy than nations like Australia and New Zealand?
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absolutely. whether we have done more than Britain is questionable; but I think both nations have solid cases to make.
 
Viktyr Korimir said:
American Exceptionalism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The problem is, a large portion of our population has forgotten it.
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it's not that we have forgotten, it's that the Baby Boomers decided not to teach it.
 
Catz Part Deux said:
Do you believe in American exceptionalism?

American exceptionalism: an old idea and a new political battle
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American exceptionalism is such an amorphous concept that it really depends how you define it. Are there certain things that America is the best in the world at? Yes. Is America's position in the world guaranteed? Absolutely not.

When it comes to different ways to measure a nation's "exceptionalism", America compares quite well to other developed countries by some metrics (e.g. military power, economic vibrancy, monetary stability, cultural impact, GDP per capita, civil liberties, tolerance toward other cultures, university education) but quite poor by other metrics (e.g. primary/secondary education, health, crime, poverty, incarceration, wealth disparity).
 
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cpwill said:
absolutely. whether we have done more than Britain is questionable; but I think both nations have solid cases to make.
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Did you know that, per capita, Australia and New Zealand lost more service personnel in WWII than any other country? Why do we always forget about Australia? Is their commitment to freedom less substantial than ours?
 
American said:
American exceptionalism is about ordinary people being free to do extraordinary things. It's about being founded on this principle, that people can government themselves. Each sovereign person, by governing his own actions, respects the rights of others; can best decide his own course.
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That actually sums it up quite well. The vast majority of political debate, especially between groups like left wingers and right wingers, comes from the respecting the rights of others part. A lot of people want their own rights respected, but aren't willing to give up a little to protect the rights of others. Religion in this country is a great example. Christian groups want to see society reflect their beliefs, but don't realize that the very freedoms that protect their faith also protect others from them. One can't abridge the rights of another in order to bolster one's own.

I think if we took the respect for the rights of others a bit more seriously, a lot of these arguments we have would be simpler to resolve.
 
cpwill said:
it certainly is now. however, there have been two major nations that have been the catalysts that created that movement: and those two nations are Britain, and the US.
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Ahh, now you've added another country. Anyone else you'd like to add? Care to Athens? Maybe even India? How about the Romans? Do they play any role in this movement?
 
The U.S. is no more exceptional than any other country. American exceptionalism is just a romanticization of this country by nationalists who use lies and exaggerations to advance a much less altruistic agenda.
 
Yes, it is.

The only thing is that most people hear "Exceptionalism", and they think positive....patriotic...or even best country in the world. This doesn't necessarily mean that. American exceptionalism is a complicated idea that essentially states that we are somehow different, for good or for ill. In a way, it only merely needs to be in the minds of Americans for it to become a reality. It is a significant declaration, and completely relevant today. You can still see it wherever you look.





Relating to "best country in the world", we can argue that that notion has made us unique.
The American must go outside his country and hear the voice of America to realize that his is one of the most spectacularly lopsided cultures in all history. The marvelous success and vitality of our institutions is equaled by the amazing poverty and inarticulateness of our theorizing about politics. No nation has ever believed more firmly that its political life was based on a perfect theory. And yet no nation has ever been less interested in political philosophy or produced less in the way of theory. If we can explain this paradox, we shall have a key to much that is characteristic-and much that is good-in our institutions.
[...]
For the belief that an explicit political theory is superfluous precisely because we already somehow possess a satisfactory equivalent, I propose the name 'givenness'. 'Givenness' is the belief that values in America are in some way or another automatically defined: given by certain facts of geography or history peculiar to us.
-Daniel Boorstin, Historian, The Genius of American Politics, 1953.
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For Americans, there was a great debate as to whether or not there was an actual conservatism and whether or not it is liberalism that is America's only tradition (Liberal and Conservative intellectuals and historians have debated this for decades). For Americans, there is a firm belief in the nation of immigrants, the melting pot..and an ideal universal to man (See American theory of Assimilation). There is also a solid tradition of devaluing material goods in favor of being the practical-minded man who makes for himself (Thoreau)..... of having a hard work ethic while at the same time being practical-minded rather than philosophical (Tocqueville). Marx and Engels ran into this notion of American exceptionalism and pondered it. Why on earth isn't the United States, perhaps the single best target for a revolution, moving in our direction? It vexed them before they passed on, and it continued to confuse and frustrate Marxists ever since.

There is also a dangerous side to American exceptionalism. If we do not hold up to our ideals, we will be punished by God, by nature, or by posterity (History). It will not be like what many others have faced. No, it would be even worse of a punishment.

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.
-Governor John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity 1630.
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Then, there's also this side of American Exceptionalism. What is our role in the world? The above quote could mean that people are merely supposed to look at us for an example and mold themselves after us if they can. Or perhaps it could mean other things. Perhaps it could mean that we have a specific destiny in shaping the ways of others with our very own hands. That idea has been a very powerful notion in the 19th and 20th centuries, and continues to impress us today. Each century attached the idea in a different way, but there was something underneath the surface that said "History/God has given us the opportunity to improve this world."
 
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Plus, the article states that it is an old concept that only recently is gaining attention because of 2012.

American exceptionalism" is a phrase that, until recently, was rarely heard outside the confines of think tanks, opinion journals and university history departments.

But with Republicans and tea party activists accusing President Obama and the Democrats of turning the country toward socialism, the idea that the United States is inherently superior to the world's other nations has become the battle cry from a new front in the ongoing culture wars. Lately, it seems to be on the lips of just about every Republican who is giving any thought to running for president in 2012.
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That is simply ridiculous. American Exceptionalism never really left the tongues of Americans, and especially writers. Here's just a few examples.
(I'll start the funniest ones first.)

"American Exceptionalism
A Double Edged Sword
By Seymour Martin Lipset
Chapter One: Ideology, Politics, and Deviance"-Washington Post, 1996.

"American exceptionalism is nothing new. But it is getting sharper" -The Economist, November 6 2003.

*Just read that whole issue. It's filled with articles on it.

"The Power and the Glory:Myths of American Exceptionalism"-Howard Zinn, Boston Review: November, 2006.

"Palin’s American Exception"-Roger Cohen, Op-Ed, New York Times, September 2008.

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars -- no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.
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That was Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" speech in 2007.
 
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I would have to say that claiming America is better than it actually is is un-patriotic. Truly loving your country means trying to make it the best it can be. Obviously, no one is perfect, and no country is. Ignoring our shortcomings and refusing to try and fix them is detrimental to this nation.
 
American said:
American exceptionalism is about ordinary people being free to do extraordinary things. It's about being founded on this principle, that people can government themselves. Each sovereign person, by governing his own actions, respects the rights of others; can best decide his own course.
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Best answer yet. I was about to type the same thing, but I'd rather just give props to the guy that beat me to it ;)
 
America is unique, it is better than many other countries on many fields, worse than some on other fields, and America has made great historical achievements. I say that as a non-American: America has indeed done a great job spreading, preserving and defending freedom and democracy on this planet. Without America, I couldn't live in freedom today here in Germany, and I am very grateful. America is probably the one foreign country I feel closest to. Also, America is the most important ally of my country these days.

So Americans have reasons to be proud.

But that doesn't mean I don't find some kinds of American nationalism silly. Pride in your own country and its achievements is one thing, but looking down on others is another. Also, some nationalistic American myths are just that, they are either exaggerated or emphasize an alleged exceptionalism that doesn't exist any longer. When patriotism comes with chauvinism and ignorance, it's pretty ugly, not only when Americans do it, but also when Americans do it. And sometimes, it seems that those who are most vocal about their patriotism are those who have the least knowledge about other countries and places on this planet.

For example, sometimes you meet Americans who have never been to Europe, don't speak a language other than English, yet believe America is better than Europe, because Europe allegedly is a "socialist" hellhole, because Europeans allegedly don't know what freedom is, etc pp. People who make jokes about Nazis and "cheese eating surrender monkeys" not just in jest, but take these stereotypes way too seriously. Ignoring that freedom and democracy have a long tradition in countries like France, the Netherlands or Switzerland too, and ignoring that fact that most of Europe today is not any less free than America (some European countries are even more free, if you believe certain indexes).

What's also silly is when an individual American believes the world, or people of other nationalities, owe him anything, although he himself probably has never done anything constructive to improve America, or even the rest of the world, but just waves the American flag. Just because the American nation did many great things in history, it doesn't mean every backwards redneck was part of it. I feel great gratitude towards the achievements of American soldiers who liberated my country, and I have great repect for Americans who help fostering their and my values within and outside of their country, but that doesn't mean I need to kiss the butts of ignorant random Americans who were born long after that, just because they happened to be born into that club.

I hope nobody gets me the wrong way when I write that. I don't think the ignorant or rah rah patriots are a majority in America, on the contrary. And I know for sure that such horrible people exist in every country, definitely in my country as well. They exist in America too, and they can be annoying. They draw the wrong conclusions from the myth of American exceptionalism and get it the wrong way.

So I'd say Americans have all reason to be proud on their country, America is indeed exceptional on some fields, not so much on others, and on some fields, others are better. But Americans don't have any more reason to look down on others, or condemn them, than non-Americans. An "exeptionalism" that is understood as a blank cheque to mock or loathe other nationalities is misguided.
 
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Catz Part Deux said:
How is this different from the current systems in most western nations?
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From the 1800's to 1933, this was the freest nation in the world. Starting in 1933, those freedoms began to erode in favor of financial security via the federal government. Today, those freedoms are all but lost...a dream that once was. American Exceptionaism was the realization of that dream that only died off in the 70's when the government's "security" suppressed freedom to the point that the individual's ability to succeed was lost.

How are we different than other western countries? We aren't, except for the fact that we have mechanisms in place that allow the citizens to return our country to the freedom based republic that turned a colony of outcasts into the greatest country in human history.
 
ksu_aviator said:
From the 1800's to 1933, this was the freest nation in the world. Starting in 1933, those freedoms began to erode in favor of financial security via the federal government. Today, those freedoms are all but lost...a dream that once was. American Exceptionaism was the realization of that dream that only died off in the 70's when the government's "security" suppressed freedom to the point that the individual's ability to succeed was lost.
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I don't mean to spoil your party, but ... "freest nation in the world from the 1800's to 1933"? Do you think African Americans or native Americans will agree?
 
The root term of exceptionalism is "exception" and so American exceptionalism suggests that the United States is some sort of exception in the world. Not only is the notion ridiculous on an intellectual level it is offensive on a moral level.

Certainly no country is just like the U.S., but that is not the same as being exceptional because no country is just like another country. There are always differences. Saying one country is completely unique while throwing in that what makes it unique is inherently good automatically suggests the country is better than others.
 
American said:
American exceptionalism is about ordinary people being free to do extraordinary things. It's about being founded on this principle, that people can government themselves. Each sovereign person, by governing his own actions, respects the rights of others; can best decide his own course.
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I'm behind ksu_aviator, this is exactly what "American exceptionalism" is. There's a reason we were called the Land of Oppurtunity. And I think America is very lucky that we've had more than our fair share of great minds, great thinkers, and great leaders.

We're not any different than say Germany, but from what we've seen in this country's past, it has just been incredibly lucky in the people who call themselves Americans.
 
"Exceptional" is a term of perspective, it all depends on what you as an individual value and what you think a country, your country, needs to be "exceptional." So a German may find his country exceptional for a set of reasons "A" and American unexceptional for a set of reasons "B" and an American may find his country exceptional for a set of reasons "B" and Germany unexceptional for set of reasons "A."
 
Of course it's exceptional. The Declaration of Independence was truly exceptional at a time when the French were struggling through 70 years of democracy experimentation (even managed to vote in a dictator). It's the reason Europeans and Asians had a free trade pass through the Mediterranean Sea in the early 19th century. Are we really pretending that half of the world didn't gravitate towards us post WWII? It's the reason beaten World War II enemies got a fair shake unlike the beaten WWI enemies. It's the reason Europe picked itself back up and the reason Japan is an economic success. It's the reason everyone looks to America to lead every true crisis. It's the reason a divided Germany and a divided Korea wants Americans parked at their borders. It's the reason Hollywood has been the greatest influence upon other cultures. It's the reason the UN didn't crumble away like the League of Nations. It's the reason we live in a globalized world today. It's the reason so much of the world's economy is absolutely invested in us. And it's the reason space is being explored. It's the reason we have the reputation for good morality, which is certainly the reason the whole world has a heart attack whenever we are less than perfect and mimic a sliver of what they do.

America destroyed, helped destroy, or had been a part of the destruction of 11 empires in its history. The greatest force for good with the most powerful military in history managed to become the only super power without becoming a dictatorship, without being imperialists, and without colonizing the world. It managed to re-create itself through the centuries with every wave of immigration because it chose not to default to ethnic cleansing and extermination.

Every nation has its reasons to declare exceptionalism within their borders. But only America can truly be exceptional in regards to leading the world to a positive place. American exceptionalism transcends its borders.
 
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I admit to not being familiar with this idea, but reading this post and getting some excerpts is intriguing.

I often find myself viewing a nation as a single entity, as if it were a person itself. I equate our highways and transportation systems as our blood vessels, delivering things where they need to go and our technology as an expanding neural network, connecting the parts together with light speed communication. I can get deeper with it, but you get the idea.

Anyway, a part of that, is a sort of national awareness and conscious. Just as you need to take pride in yourself to maintain and improve who you are, a nation must have a degree of pride in itself as well. I do get the impression that our country is, for whatever reason, losing pride in itself. What will follow, will be a lethargy and apathy. Americans are still hard workers, and a good portion is still patriotic but it feels like it is diminishing in favor of a "global perspective". People that know me here, know that I favor a strong hawkish presence in foreign relations, but I don't favor one that diminishes our "bodily sovereignity" to outside forces. The talking point is respect for other cultures, but we need to make sure we are respecting ours first and foremost. All others are secondary considerations.

I agree with both ideas that we are great, and that we have things we need to work on. But something that makes America exceptional, is our ability to self correct past wrongs and male ourselves better without outside influence. We do work on things and that makes us exceptional(along with other countries that have done so). We made the decision to free slaves, to embrace the civil rights movement, womens rights, elect a "minority" to the highest seat in the land, etc..... without outside pressure or influence.

We need to believe in our country, because pride in it gives you the motivation to maintain and/or improve upon it. Hatred and disillusionment of our country will only lead to an unhealthy breakdown of its function.
 
I still hear American exceptionalism in Obama's rhetoric, though it is a different form that is usually repeated from those more on the American political right (the political right have a view that I happen to agree with).
 
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