American Exceptionalism, Does it really exist?

American Exceptionalism, Does it really exist?.

American Exceptionalism, Does it really exist?

Lately we’ve heard this term used more and more by political figures of all stripes and ideologies.  Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin recently used it to chide our own President who himself has used this term on at least two significant points during his Presidency.  The first time he used it he simply shrugged it off as meaningless, while the second time he used it when discussing the Syrian situation he meant to emphasize our exceptionalism.  Today Rush Limbaugh again went into great length to discuss and explain the meaning of Exceptionalism and it’s impact on our society and it’s role in our political structure.  Are Any of these points of view correct?

The timing of all this is rather intriguing to me personally because I’ve been meaning to write this blog on American Exceptionalism for quite some time.  I personally have used this term and now question whether I grasped the full meaning and magnitude of it.  I recall a meeting I lead almost 3 years ago when I proudly defended American Exceptionalism, and was challenged on this by a colleague on whether the use of this term was correct.  I defended my statement with the general idea that what we as Americans have accomplished is in fact exceptional.  I could tell at the time that this was not extremely convincing but the issue passed in one of those awkward agree to disagree scenarios that many of us find ourselves in when discussing such weighted topics.

I did however remember this and took it upon myself to read more on the topic.  I was shocked and somewhat appalled to learn all the different points of view on the matter.  It appears the term and/or idea of American Exceptionalism has been used, forgotten, reborn and redefined to suit just about every purpose imaginable.  There is no clear-cut definition, so it can essentially mean whatever you want or need it to mean at any given time.  This leads me to ask the question, should we still be using the terminology when it can be bent and shaped to suit any purpose?

The Concept seems to be rooted in the idea of “Manifest Destiny” but was first used by Alexis De Tocqueville in his historically significant work “Democracy in America”.  I’ve read this work twice, the first time I completely missed the reference to America being Exceptional, the second time I was prepared for it and absorbed it while trying desperately to understand what De Tocqueville did all those years ago.  I think it’s difficult for a modern American today to really feel and appreciate the magnitude of his work.  So many people (Americans) today don’t see our nation as an exception to the rule, they see America as that which writes the rules others follow.  That in itself should give us reason to question the brevity of the term “American Exceptionalism”.  Are we Exceptional simply because we think we are?

In trying to better understand this term I researched several literary works and also works which mention the terminology.  I felt it was important to have a grasp on how other authors use the term and not just what Scholars say about it.  One shocking revelation that I noticed is that most of the books written on the topic are written after 1984, and most were written in the last decade.

After “Democracy in America”, the Jacksonian Democrats popularly used the idea to promote the acquisition of the Western Territories.  This seems to be where Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism became intertwined with each other.  Since early Americans where much less removed from their puritanical faith, it was much easier for them to believe that their actions were guided by non other than God himself.  That acquisition of land and expansion of our great country where all part of this prescribed destiny;

1. The special virtues of the American people and their institutions;
2. America’s mission to redeem and remake the world in the image of America;
3. A divine destiny under God’s direction to accomplish this wonderful task.

This seems to be where some people get the idea that America is itself a nation of God.  So to no ones surprise American conservative writers have promoted the use of this term in the sense that America is superior because it’s exceptional.  Which of course is a complete distortion of its original meaning.

Use of the concept seems to have gone mostly dormant from the late 19th century until about 1929, when interestingly enough the first documented use of the actual term “American Exceptionalism” was used by the American Communist Party and seems to have originated from an English translation of a condemnation made in 1929 by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.  The term was used in a declaration made at the 1930 American Communist convention proclaiming that “the storm of the economic crisis in the United States blew down the house of cards of American Exceptionalism”

The phrase then fell into utter obscurity for the remainder of the century, until it was popularized once again in the 1980’s to describe America’s cultural and political uniqueness.

Some proponents of American Exceptionalism argue that the United States is exceptional in that it was founded on a set off ideals and laws rather than on a common heritage, ethnicity, or ruling elite.  In the movie “A City Upon a Hill” and the book, “A Nation like No Other” Newt Gingrich argues the claim that “exceptionalism” is “built on the unique belief that our rights do not come from the government, but from God, giving honor and responsibility to the individual – not the state” This is a general understanding shared by many.

This understanding of American Exceptionalism comes down to whether or not you believe God has anything to do with it.  Did God make America exceptional or did extraordinary people make America exceptional?  If God was truly involved in the endeavor why are there so many glaring flaws in the history of our nation?

Slavery, Civil Rights and Social Injustices just to name a few.  If our nations exceptionalism comes directly from God, does that mean the Christian Lord and Savior sees these crimes against humanity as just another part of his exceptional nation?  I have a hard time believing this myself.  I think it’s far more likely that our founding fathers were men/people of the highest caliber, who had strong moral fiber and a desire for personal liberty.  They created a nation with a system of government unlike any before which allowed for creation of a great nation which still today is highly sought out by immigrants from all over the world.

Of course today, most of that greatness is all but gone.  Americans today trade liberty for perceived safety, they allow their government to infringe upon their rights and trample on the very freedom which those before believed made us exceptional in the first place. All this while we are arguing over what American Exceptionalism actually means rather than fighting the tyranny which literally jeopardizes it.

With all this in mind, I don’t think I’ll be using the term myself in the near future but I’m sure I haven’t heard the last of it.

Cheers,

Mike

9-11 Did the Terrorists win?

We are constantly told that the Terrorists attacked us because they hate our freedom.  Does that mean they won?  Many Americans will always remember 2001 and the 11th of September as a day that will live in infamy, it is essentially our Pearl Harbor.  It’s the day when everything changed.  We were attacked on U.S. Soil by foreigners who had plotted and collaborated for years just for the chance to inflict as much damage as they could.

Let’s look at some of the ramifications of that fateful day?

• The U,S. Un-Patriot Act.  Americans have been lead to believe that we need to sacrifice our own personal freedom in order to be safe.  Our Emails and phone calls are all monitored and the recent development with the NSA opened our eyes even further at the level of infringement that we now endure.
• The NDAA’s in recent years have been used to force through indefinite detention of U.S. Citizens and granted the power of assassination to the President.  All this under the guise of funding for “the troops”, and for “Our Defense”
• The FAA Act of 2012 paved the way for U.S. Military drones now being used in U.S. Airspace for the purpose of surveillance of U.S. Citizens.

And those are just some of the worst items and by no means a complete list of the freedom we have lost in the last 12 years.

If the Terrorists attacked us because we’re so free, have they won?

The real question is why did they attack us?  Was it because of our freedom, or did they attack us because we’ve been meddling in their affairs for decades?

There is no doubt that many brave Americans gave their lives on this day 12 years ago but I think the best way to honor those who are lost would be to reclaim our lost liberty and fight against this tyranny which has only grown worse year after year under both Republicans and Democrats.  The Founders of our nation where fighting for independence over less infringement than we now endure on a daily basis.  They’re rolling in their graves right now, saddened by how far we have allowed ourselves to fall.

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

Do we still deserve liberty?

Cheers,

Mike