"But even more important is that world view that I share with John McCain. That world view that says that America is a nation of exceptionalism." - Sarah Palin, 10/2/08
What is "exceptionalism?" Wikipedia has a good definition:
American exceptionalism (cf. "exceptionalism") refers to the belief that the United States differs qualitatively from other developed nations, because of its national credo, historical evolution, or distinctive political and religious institutions.Certain persons view American exceptionalism as a product of veiled nationalistic chauvinism. The term can also be used in a negative sense by critics of American policies to refer to a willful nationalistic ignorance of faults committed by the American government.
"Nationalistic chauvinism?" No, that doesn't sound too good. But wait, it gets worse:
Dorothy Ross, in Origins of American Social Science (1991), argued that there are three generic varieties of American exceptionalism:1. supernaturalist explanations which emphasize the causal potency of God in selecting America as a "city on a hill" to serve as an example for the rest of the world,
2. genetic interpretations which emphasize racial traits, ethnicity, or gender, and
3. environmental explanations such as geography, climate, availability of natural resources, social structure, and type of political economy.The term was first used in respect of the United States by Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831. American exceptionalism is close to the idea of Manifest Destiny, a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the purchase of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, the Gadsden Purchase, and the Mexican Cession). The concept of "manifest destiny" was later used in the 1890s by Republicans as a theoretical justification for the Spanish-American War and the short-lived phenomenon of classical colonial imperialism (quite limited in time and scope compared to that of, say, the United Kingdom, France, Japan or practically any other colonial power) during a period from around 1898 to 1913 in the U.S. expansion outside of North America.
As we can see, there are disturbing ultra-nationalist, supernaturalist, militarism, and even racial connotations to the term "American exceptionalism." Even worse, in some ways, is that the view is simply flat-out wrong. Today, far from differing "qualitatively" from the rest of the planet, America is part of a globalized economy in which we are certainly not above and beyond the laws of economics, politics, demographics, etc. We need allies, cannot "go it alone." We are not above and beyond the laws of nature and the environment (global warming affects us too). We are not "energy independent" and are not likely to be any time soon (if ever). We are not - sadly - above horrors like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition, torture. We have clearly seen that we cannot impose our system of government on the world, certainly not at the point of a gun. Heck, we can't even effectively stop North Korea or Iran from getting nukes.
How "exceptional" is any of that? Not very, which is why the McCain-Palin worldview is not just wrong, it's dangerous. If they actually believe in "American exceptionalism," then we shouldn't be surprised when a long series of severely flawed policies flow from that belief. Just as it matters what causes global warming (despite Sarah Palin's ignorant denials), it also matters greatly what someone's ideological belief system is. In this case, "American exceptionalism" is a belief system we really can do without.
P.S. I was just thinking that the Roman Empire, the British Empire, and other (formerly) great nations must also have thought they were "exceptional," that they were somehow immune to economic and other natural laws that affect everyone else in the world. Before they declined and fell, that is. The problem is, this flawed belief system can lead to a wide range of wrong decisions and policies, including ones that can seriously harm the empire, nation, whatever (e.g., pretending that we can impose our system around the world by military force).
P.P.S. One more thought on Palin's concept that it doesn't matter what causes something (e.g., global warming). So, if it doesn't matter what causes cancer, then how do we know if we should pursue a vaccine (if it's caused by a virus), antibiotics (if it's caused by bacteria), stem cell research (if it's caused by flaws or other processes taking place at the cellular/DNA level), or policies that guard us against pollution (if it's caused by carcinogens)? Right, we wouldn't know...UNLESS we first figured out what CAUSED cancer. Same thing with global warming, and same thing with diagnosing and dealing with our economic, environmental political, military and other challenges as a nation.
I tend to regard the concept of exceptionalism as part of their emotional character; it meshes nicely with the implicit conviction that God is on their side (that is, on America's side, when they think to include the country). That is, that the situation we and the world are in today is part of God's plan, anyone who opposes them is necessarily therefore opposing God and must be evil. It also, I suspect, explains McCain's risk-taking and gambling, where, because he is who he is, Lady Luck/God will make an exception just for him and reward rash behavior as if it were a stroke of genius---- filling the inside straight, so to speak. The concept provides a fake rationalization for utterly irrational, dangerous, and impulsive decisions (which cannot even be called "decisions" inasmuch as they are instinctive and emotional actions). Exactly the sort of personality and ideas we do not want to put into leadership in these dangerous times.
This is the idea, around since the founding fathers, and elaborated on by Alexis de Tocqueville, that the United States is a nation unlike any other with a special mission to build the "city upon a hill" that will serve as liberty's beacon for mankind.But exceptionalism has taken an ugly twist of late. It's become the angry refuge of the America that wants to deny the real state of the world.
From an inspirational notion, however flawed in execution, that has buttressed the global spread of liberty, American exceptionalism has morphed into the fortress of those who see themselves threatened by "one-worlders" (read Barack Obama) and who believe it's more important to know how to dress moose than find Mumbai.
That's Palinism, a philosophy delivered without a passport and with a view (on a clear day) of Russia.
Behind Palinism lies anger. It's been growing as America's relative decline has become more manifest in falling incomes, imploding markets, massive debt and rising new centers of wealth and power from Shanghai to Dubai.
The damn-the-world, God-chose-us rage of that America has sharpened as U.S. exceptionalism has become harder to square with the 21st-century world's interconnectedness. How exceptional can you be when every major problem you face, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to gas prices, requires joint action?
Very exceptional, insists Palin, and so does John McCain by choosing her. (He has said: "I do believe in American exceptionalism. We are the only nation I know that really is deeply concerned about adhering to the principle that all of us are created equal.")
America is distinct. Its habits and attitudes with respect to religion, patriotism, voting and the death penalty, for example, differ from much of the rest of the developed world. It is more ideological than other countries, believing still in its manifest destiny. At its noblest, it inspires still.
But, let's face it, from Baghdad to Bear Stearns the last eight years have been a lesson in the price of exceptionalism run amok.
To persist with a philosophy grounded in America's separateness, rather than its connectedness, would be devastating at a time when the country faces two wars, a financial collapse unseen since 1929, commodity inflation, a huge transfer of resources to the Middle East, and the imperative to develop new sources of energy.
And a reply letter a few days later:
Gov. Sarah Palin has tapped into a huge rage against what her followers see as America's loss of spirituality and virility, for which they blame liberalism, internationalism and elitism.Palinism is not just some angry version of conservatism. In its passionate rage, Palinism has a religious component that expresses a faith in the cleansing power of war.
Ms. Palin comes from a church that believes we are in the "end times," that Armageddon is nearly upon us, and that those who have accepted Christ will be purified in the great fires soon to come. What is new is that Ms. Palin could very soon be in a position literally to make those fires happen.
Their impotent rage can lead to our Armageddon.
These people believe in torture and preventive war, against all of our own signed treaties and constitutional prohibitions; they think that habeas corpus and the 4th amendment (and therefore ALL amendments and constitutional protections of our liberties) are to be swept aside; they believe in secrecy and illegality, their utopian ends always justifying all means. In short, they in fact do NOT believe in America or American exceptionalism -- they believe in jingoism and deranged nationalism and ignorance and fear.
They can go to Hell.
I don't think that it is arrogance or a dismissal of what other people in the world do but rather a surprising leap forward in human thought and philosophy regarding the structure of society.
The fact that many in America want to destroy this fabric by embracing extreme positions and religious fundamentalism is a sign of our society waning in time. When people become apathetic to our political process and fall in love with partisanship, we lose our traction.
I think it was an amazing leap forward to imagine that any individual might far surpass their peers and really make it in the world and come back to improve their own community. It is sad that people like Palin believe that America is better than everyone else and yet do not believe that individuals can be exceptional. They hate socialism and communism but seem to want everyone to be the exact same (ie poor) unless you are born into the super-elite.
At the end of the day our exceptionalism was rooted in the fact that we were as a society jumping far into the future before the rest of the world and were charged with the solemn duty to help uplift everyone, everywhere. The fact that we seem to prefer bombing them today (conversion by force) is a sick fate. Imagine the America that was making great strides toward literacy and connectedness. Imagine that time when people took ownership and responsibility for their government, rather than seeing it as a separate and evil entity that wants to tax you and control your life. Imagine when people believed patriotism wasn't who you supported or how many flags you can carry but the measure of your deeds toward a greater society. Imagine a time when we feared a standing military and a powerful authoritative figure because we loved liberty more and put more trust in the legislature.
We have fallen so far. We have lost our exceptionalism. I believe in it still.
One thing we must remember is that every empire thinks it is exceptional. The Soviet Union thought they would save the world. The Germans under the Nazis thought they would restore the mythical glory of the German volk. They all were infused with a sense of spiritual justificaiton and believed only they were enlightened. The moral here is that it is not enough to believe God or spirit is on your side. Many evil empires believed a higher power blessed their endeavors.