What is American exceptionalism?
In my web site essay “A Short Guide To The American Political System”, I mention the notion of American exceptionalism. When he read my latest up-date of this essay, my astute American friend Michael Grace picked up on my reference to American exceptionalism and made some interesting remarks on the notion in the context of the current American political scene:
“Your discussion on American exceptionalism is prescient as we expect to hear a lot about this topic during the election mostly from Republican candidates. The thought was popularized by Tocqueville when he called Americans “exceptional” and has been seized upon ever since by right-wingers and reactionaries as a test of patriotism. What makes the current discussion different from the past is the popular connection between American exceptionalism and natural law, or natural rights, as endowed by “our Creator”. The implied ties between American exceptionalism and God is pretty heady stuff since this thinking suggests that America is immune from the laws of history. We are “exceptional.”
Current forms of American exceptionalism go like this:
America is the first nation created by intent and design to recognize the “natural” rights of citizens that flow from the basic laws of humanity as handed down by God to Moses which are specified in our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Hence, American exceptionalism derives from natural law as revealed by God. To deny or question American exceptionalism is to deny the God-given destiny of America to be the guardian of human freedom and liberty to all mankind and the world. Therefore, any intervention or any action that supports this objective is justified. As a result, all Americans, particularly our leaders, must be whole-heartedly committed to fulfilling this destiny to preserve our “God-given” liberties and freedoms, otherwise you cannot be a “true” American or trusted to a leadership position.
Many Americans think that our schools, our leaders and our culture have failed to reinforce this belief in our citizens and our children and, as a result, we are “weaker” than before which threatens our liberties. Already the demagoguery has started with Romney accusing the President of “apologizing for America” which—of course—he has never done, nor is there a specific instance that Romney can point to in making this claim because it never happened. But it makes for a good sound bite and many Americans believe him. Unfortunately, during times of economic turmoil and fear, ultra-nationalism that provokes national pride has a mass appeal.”