American Exceptionalism

[Anonymous]

I hope I can state this as a serious question, not another left/right bashing party: It seems that recognizing American exceptionalism has become the right's new test of patriotism. To me, however, this is jingoism, praising our country by denigrating others.

I don't mean to say anything negative about America. I was born here and cannot imagine considering myself anything but an American. I have no desire to move to another country. I have spent time elsewhere and, much as I have enjoyed other countries, I always considered myself a foreigner there. This is my country and I love it. But just as I love my wife and family above all others and yet can see that they have their faults and are not inherently superior to other people, so I see faults with my country and don't presume it to be superior in all respects to every other nation.

My question is, am I missing something? Can someone tell me whether I am misunderstanding the phrase?

[Anonymous]

America is becoming less exeptional each day Obama is President so eventually it will thankfully be a non-issue to those stupid ,rah-rah ,flag loving, traditional values, strict consititutionalist, patriotic, Judeo-Christian types.

[Anonymous]

How exceptional can we be if we are a lot at fault for the global recession? Or maybe that is why we are exceptional?

[Anonymous]

We suck...thats why people flood over the border to get here. They also rush over when they need good healthcare and they can afford to. Obama will fix us so nobody wants to come here anymore,,,Its gonna be awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We suck...thats why people flood over the border to get here. They also rush over when they need good healthcare and they can afford to. Obama will fix us so nobody wants to come here anymore,,,Its gonna be awesome.

Arrogance was the downfall of the British Empire.

A good America is one that has prIDE in it's accomplishments but the humility to know that it can always be better.

[Anonymous]

I'm very proud of what we have accomplished in this country but the people going on about American Exceptionalism sound a lot like the Nazis and their Thousand Year Reich.

[Anonymous]

I saw a quote once from a European that said he could totally understand patriotism as a sentiment, but Americans seemed to think it was a philosophy.

[Anonymous]

The philosophy is empowering the individual , decentralizing and weakening the power of government. It is genius and it scares insecure types who want cradle to grave security. These types resent the power and wealth that this philosphy has given us. They sneer and sour-grape constantly. Then when they are treatened to be conquered by ruthless neighbors they squeal for us to save them. They are thankful for a while and then they revert to their slovenly and weak charachter of sneering and sour graping again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The philosophy is empowering the individual , decentralizing and weakening the power of government. It is genius and it scares insecure types who want cradle to grave security. These types resent the power and wealth that this philosphy has given us. They sneer and sour-grape constantly. Then when they are treatened to be conquered by ruthless neighbors they squeal for us to save them. They are thankful for a while and then they revert to their slovenly and weak charachter of sneering and sour graping again.

What I love most about this mythology (apart from the image of ruthless Canadians threatening to conquer us) is the idea that it's liberals, not conservatives, who spent the years of the Bush presidency constantly yammering about how threatened America was. Honestly, if you took away the fear mongering, what would be left of the right wing manifesto between 9/11 and Obama's election?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The philosophy is empowering the individual , decentralizing and weakening the power of government. It is genius and it scares insecure types who want cradle to grave security. These types resent the power and wealth that this philosphy has given us. They sneer and sour-grape constantly. Then when they are treatened to be conquered by ruthless neighbors they squeal for us to save them. They are thankful for a while and then they revert to their slovenly and weak charachter of sneering and sour graping again.

Nice example of what I meant about building up our country by denigrating others. We are a great and wealthy nation with institutions that have withstood a Civil War, two World Wars, and a Great Depression, and will withstand this recession. We can be proud that we are a great nation without crowing that we are the greatest. Insulting other nations does not enhance our stature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The philosophy is empowering the individual , decentralizing and weakening the power of government. It is genius and it scares insecure types who want cradle to grave security. These types resent the power and wealth that this philosphy has given us. They sneer and sour-grape constantly. Then when they are treatened to be conquered by ruthless neighbors they squeal for us to save them. They are thankful for a while and then they revert to their slovenly and weak charachter of sneering and sour graping again.

I am quite well off because of my own work. I agree with your first sentence, but the rest is horseshit. You are a cheap Ayn Rand knockoff who does not know your history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: America is becoming less exeptional each day Obama is President so eventually it will thankfully be a non-issue to those stupid ,rah-rah ,flag loving, traditional values, strict consititutionalist, patriotic, Judeo-Christian types.

Wasn't it the Republicans who trampled the Constitution after 9/11?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: America is becoming less exeptional each day Obama is President so eventually it will thankfully be a non-issue to those stupid ,rah-rah ,flag loving, traditional values, strict consititutionalist, patriotic, Judeo-Christian types.

Wasn't it the Republicans who trampled the Constitution after 9/11?

And it was the Republicans who destroyed the Clinton surplus and gave us the deficit that now threatens our financial stability. And Republicans who supported the lax regulation of Wall Street (thanks, Greenspan Fed!) that almost destroyed our economy. Yay for our laissez-faire exceptionalism!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm very proud of what we have accomplished in this country but the people going on about American Exceptionalism sound a lot like the Nazis and their Thousand Year Reich.

I agree. Generally, people in other nations enjoy a certain amount of nationalism and think they're country is exceptional. I don't know what the issue is with Obama's one-time statement that Americans feel they are exceptional, the Greeks believe Greece is exceptional, etc. What's the issue?

But carrying it to the point of ONE country being superior, sounds too much like the Aryan superiority doctrine of Hitler.

America has been on the slide (at a faster rate during the 8-year Dubya/Cheney reign). I see the degradation of education due to Republican sponsored animus to cut education budgets every chance they get. Education is the foundation and platform to strengthen the backbone of any nation. Without this, you got nothing. Exceptionalism is the first to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We suck...thats why people flood over the border to get here. They also rush over when they need good healthcare and they can afford to. Obama will fix us so nobody wants to come here anymore,,,Its gonna be awesome.

My guess is that if those flooding over the border had a choice they would rather go to a Scandinavian country where they could get even better benefits and opportunities. We just happen to be the most conveniently located.