American Exceptionalism – it is not what it used to be

American Exceptionalism is a belief that the United States differs qualitatively from other developed nations, because of its unique origins, national credo, historical evolution, or distinctive political and religious institutions. It is not an overt belief but rather a collective sense that there is something special about the United States.

American Exceptionalism is the idea that the United States and the American people hold a unique place in the world, by offering opportunity and hope for humanity, derived from a unique balance of public and private interests governed by constitutional ideals that are focused on personal and economic freedom. This concept was first noted by a Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville during his travels to America in 1831. He was inspired by the remarkable culture and institutions he observed in his travels across America.

The concept of American Exceptionalism is the cornerstone that has enabled America to rise from a backwater, rebellious colony to the lone super-power in the world today. American Exceptionalism is the bedrock for the cultural confidence of our nation.

Exceptional does not mean superior, rather it means unique or set apart form others. Who can deny that America is unique in this world? It was the first country founded on a set of republican ideals, rather than on a common heritage, ethnicity or ruling elite. America has prospered beyond that of any other nation in the modern era.

Exceptionalism has fueled the American psyche from the colonial days to the 1960’s. This confidence played a crucial role in enabling the US to withstand the trauma of the civil war and inspired us to fight tyranny in both World War I and II. The cultural confidence inspired by exceptionalism provided the clear distinction between the evil of communism and the ideals of America during the cold war.

However, something began to change in the 1960’s. At that point, the United States was the primary superpower representing democracy, freedom and liberty. It had replaced the historical European powers. America was beginning to dominate the world economically, militarily and culturally. America’s wealth and cultural dominance were without parallel since the height of the Roman Empire.

At this point, a small but growing sub-culture began to gain notoriety. This group’s world view sees America and its overt power and influence as the root cause of many of the world’s problems. They are the blame America first crowd. This group has never seen a problem that was not caused or enhanced by America.

The 9/11 terrorists were not evil; they were driven to do evil because of America’s pro-Israel policy. Global warming is not a natural phenomena, it is due to selfish Americans driving SUV’s. AID’s is rampant in Africa not because of poverty and tyranny of its leaders, but because of the greedy, profit-driven US pharmaceutical companies. The list goes on and on.
This blame America first crowd is dominated by the highly (perhaps overly) educated, the entertainment industry and those with inherited wealth and power. By the world’s standards this group lives a privileged life and have amassed wealth that is not commiserate with the work of others. It is in this fact that I believe at their core they are motivated by guilt.

This group suffers from what I call gilded guilt. They feel guilty that they have so much and others have so little. They try to assuage their guilt by blaming America. This directs the attention away from the individual to the amorphous nation - America.

By no means am I saying America is perfect. It is far from it. Given that, what other country would you want to lead the world – China and its capitalistic communism, Russia and its mafia oligarchy, Iran and its theocratic imans or the even our good friends the British with their deep tradition of superior classes and monarchy? To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “[American] Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.”

America often falls short of its ideals – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all of its citizens. That is why they are called ideals. Ideals serve as an elusive goal that are ultimately unattainable but inspire us to strive for the best.

The weight of American Exceptionalism carries a heavy cost and burden. America has a tremendous responsibility to its citizens and in fact to the entire world. We can not force others to accept our ideals but we should work to make them available to all who strive for them.