The Goat
04-05-2009, 07:10 PM
The problem with criticizing this idea of American-exceptionalism - our putative inflated sense of self-importance - is that it is in no way unique to America. Go to any country and people say the same thing: thank GOD we are from here, and not somewhere else. I've been to Thailand, where people sleep with their kids on the streets and yet still declare honestly, it could be worse, at least we are part of God's chosen race; I've been to Korea where everything is dirty and smelly and the weather sucks and people say, sucks to be you, being from that crazy America country; and don't get me started on the stuck up French, in whose country I've also spent some time. Pretty much anywhere you go, with the exception perhaps, perhaps, being the poorest of the poor, people are going to have an exaggerated sense of self-importance. This is human nature.
So when American liberals decry this tendency as somehow being unique to American conservatives, I have to wonder if they've ever been outside of the country.
The historians/sociologists idea of American Exceptionalism is not really what you describe, not really at all. AE sort of has roots in the Manifest Destiny era that said America had a right, God-given, to expand across this continent before we owned it. Remember the French owned much of the continent prior to 1803(?) and the rest was basically Mexico (save for the Northwest which is sort of on its own historically). AE tends to redirect manifest destiny on a global scale...the ability to shape, influence and even dictate world events to our liking w/ the implicit assumption whatever ill consequences result simply won't outweigh the benefits. Honestly there's quite a bit of historical study relating Japan's (i see you're there now) collective self-perception leading up to their actions in WWII and our own collective self-perception after the war. AE is sort of like saying we can do what we want and ignore the consequences...similar to the mentality of Rome or any other empire-society in history. The reality outcomes are far different than the expected outcomes :)
So when American liberals decry this tendency as somehow being unique to American conservatives, I have to wonder if they've ever been outside of the country.
The historians/sociologists idea of American Exceptionalism is not really what you describe, not really at all. AE sort of has roots in the Manifest Destiny era that said America had a right, God-given, to expand across this continent before we owned it. Remember the French owned much of the continent prior to 1803(?) and the rest was basically Mexico (save for the Northwest which is sort of on its own historically). AE tends to redirect manifest destiny on a global scale...the ability to shape, influence and even dictate world events to our liking w/ the implicit assumption whatever ill consequences result simply won't outweigh the benefits. Honestly there's quite a bit of historical study relating Japan's (i see you're there now) collective self-perception leading up to their actions in WWII and our own collective self-perception after the war. AE is sort of like saying we can do what we want and ignore the consequences...similar to the mentality of Rome or any other empire-society in history. The reality outcomes are far different than the expected outcomes :)