Do you believe in American Exceptionalism?

[Cimachol]

The phrase “American Exceptionalism” refers to the idea that our country is qualitatively different from other nations insofar as it was established based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, republicanism, populism and laissez-faire. This combination made it different from other nations at the time and continues to make it different from other nations today. Whether you think that these qualities make it better than other nations is a secondary question, but that our country has a different foundation from other nations, I think, is hard to deny.

I do happen to think these qualities generally make our nation a better place to live than other countries, and has generally led us to make better choices as a nation. As we let go of our ideals, however, we will become less exceptional, and less “better.”

 

[Deltadeliquent]

I do not believe in American exceptionalism.
America was founded on ideas that had been circulating in Europe for generations.

America was able to implement these ideas because there was basicly a blank slate
to start with. There was no intransigent aristocracy reluctant to give up its place at the top of the heap.

America is what happens when 17th century Britain starts fresh.

But we have in the past, and still continue to stray far from the potential we hoped to materialise. We are a good example of what happens to a dream when subject to the Human Condition. We are as bad and as good as anywhere or anybody else.

I don’t know if God had anything to do with it. I doubt it, considering the suffering the establishment of this country visited on millions of people: native, African, and even European.

 

[phil_at_dayboro]

I admire the comments of the O P …
Citizens of the U S seem to me to be extremely patriotic ,over the top even…
But my opinion is based only from what I have seen on television,
Iv never been there…
Do I think God had a leading hand in the development of the U S ?
No… That idea would be total nonsense,
The U S has done well simply because it has been populated mostly from the
United Kingdom , and Europe… These migrants developed the country , they went there to escape the constraints , the dictators , the hierarchy of church & monarchy , to seek freedom of speech and expression…, and people migrated in droves… Plus you had a couple of hundred years head start on other democracies like Australia.
Plus the geography of the continent helped as well…
The U S is the policeman of the world, but like all empires before it…
One day it will no longer be…

 

[mikekle]

I do not believe in American Exceptionalism. That said, I do believe that the Constitution and the establishment of this country was led by the hand of God. We’ve just messed it up - badly.

I feel the same way, the US was, at one time, a great nation, and had some great things going for it, but it has been thrown so far off the tracks, all has been lost imo.

I do not think this is any accident though, I think its all part of a larger plan, drawn up long ago, and now, we are just beginning to realize it, look at what Russia is doing, China is behind them all the way, there is alot of people claiming Russia and China have planned this and will soon announce, they are no longer going to accept or use the US dollar, China will demand payment on our debt in gold, which the US cannot begin to pay, we are in very bad financial shape, and this will be the straw that breaks the back.

I lost alot of my respect for the US long ago and am not patriotic at all, It seems everything the US does today is over greed, or oil, we cannot believe a word they say anymore.

However, our nations founders saw fit to put in our Constitution that the public has the DUTY and is required to right the wrongs, in that they must throw off such corruption and provide NEW guards for their future safety. It would be nice if the majority of the public would realize what their duties are as an american citizen…its long overdue for an ‘american spring’, but vast majority of people today dont want to be bothered with such things, they are patriotic, but not if it interferes with their lives in anyway, they will fly the flag on July 4th and attend parades, but will they stand up for what the Constitution says they MUST do if the situation arises?..I highly doubt it.

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

The phrase “American Exceptionalism” refers to the idea that our country is qualitatively different from other nations insofar as it was established based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, republicanism, populism and laissez-faire. This combination made it different from other nations at the time and continues to make it different from other nations today. Whether you think that these qualities make it better than other nations is a secondary question, but that our country has a different foundation from other nations, I think, is hard to deny.

I do happen to think these qualities generally make our nation a better place to live than other countries, and has generally led us to make better choices as a nation. As we let go of our ideals, however, we will become less exceptional, and less “better.”

Op Ed NY Times 9/11/2013

It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.

I don’t know about the rest, but I don’t like to be told by a former KGB thug that I am not exceptional.

American Exceptionalism does not mean that we are better people. And it does not mean that we’re special, more qualified, smarter, than anybody else in the world. It does not mean that at all. But most half-thinkers, surface individuals, hear the phrase and they think it equals bragging.

American Exceptionalism has nothing to do with anything but freedom and liberty

For the first time in human history, a government and country was founded on the belief that leaders serve the population. This country was the first in history, the EXCEPTION The exception to the rule is what American Exceptionalism is.

It is because of this liberty and freedom that our country exists, because the founders recognized it comes from God. It’s part of the natural yearning of the human spirit. It is not granted by a government. It’s not granted by Putin. It’s not granted by Obama or any other human being. We are created with the natural yearning to be free, and it is other men and leaders throughout human history who have suppressed that and imprisoned people for seeking it.

The US is the first country in the history of the world to organize a government with a Constitution laying out the rules…that the individual was supreme and dominant, and that is what led to the US becoming the greatest country ever because it unleashed people to be the best they could be. Nothing like it had ever happened. That is American Exceptionalism.

 

[PazzoGrande]

No chance!

:nope:

In your opinion, did the UK have the same patriotic-divine sentimentality in the past? I’m guessing maybe not so much anymore since secularism is in vogue, but in previous times, especially during the days of the Empire, did Britons also insist God put their country on a pedestal above all others just as many Americans feel today? I suspect so, but you’d know better than me.

I bring that up to prove the point which most users here seem to have a consensus on: Any country and every country, especially the rich and powerful ones, thinks they’re specially marked by God.

The BRIC countries are supposedly the next world powers, and I bet they’ll insist the same. Don’t know how Communist China will believe in that Divine Right, but I think we can practically guarantee it’ll find a way.

 

[phil_at_dayboro]

Oh well… Here we go… Excuse me while I yawn through this…

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

Op Ed NY Times 9/11/2013

I don’t know about the rest, but I don’t like to be told by a former KGB thug that I am not exceptional.

American Exceptionalism does not mean that we are better people. And it does not mean that we’re special, more qualified, smarter, than anybody else in the world. It does not mean that at all. But most half-thinkers, surface individuals, hear the phrase and they think it equals bragging.

American Exceptionalism has nothing to do with anything but freedom and liberty

For the first time in human history, a government and country was founded on the belief that leaders serve the population. This country was the first in history, the EXCEPTION The exception to the rule is what American Exceptionalism is.

It is because of this liberty and freedom that our country exists, because the founders recognized it comes from God. It’s part of the natural yearning of the human spirit. It is not granted by a government. It’s not granted by Putin. It’s not granted by Obama or any other human being. We are created with the natural yearning to be free, and it is other men and leaders throughout human history who have suppressed that and imprisoned people for seeking it.

The US is the first country in the history of the world to organize a government with a Constitution laying out the rules…that the individual was supreme and dominant, and that is what led to the US becoming the greatest country ever because it unleashed people to be the best they could be. Nothing like it had ever happened. That is American Exceptionalism.

:

 

[starshiptrooper]

Let us recall a few of the great accomplishments of the United States of America shall we?

1. Fought off a tyranny and replaced it with an orderly government. There were no mass executions unlike the French Revolution
2. Wrote Constitution which made the leaders servants of the people.
3. Protected the rights of the individual. Remember the guarantees in the Constitution to trial by jury, the Bill of Rights, the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. All of these protections that we take for granted, the Founding Fathers argued and bled for them.
4. Set up a system of government that served as model for other countries.
5. Back to back champions in the World Wars.
6. Winning the Cold War
7. Our free-market, stable government, civil rights, and the ability of the individual to succeed has made our country one of the most if not the most attractive destination for immigrants.
8. The incredible innovations that have come from Americans. The lightbulb? Henry Ford’s affordable automobiles?
9. We donated $1.4 billion to Haiti within a year of the 2010 earthquake
10. We landed on the Moon

American is exceptional, and we have the achievements to prove it. :extrahappy:

 

[Midwest88]

As someone who use to “hate” the US - and I’m an American - I will say that my attitude have changed. I do believe that the USA is an exceptional country. No other country matched our history and rise to power. No other country is looked at the same in an immigrant’s eyes (just ask my parents and all my family relatives & friends who have immigrated here). No country has the reputation - both good & bad - like the USA.

What makes the USA exceptional is the Constitution and its people who BELIEVE in it and don’t interpret it in insidious ways to get what they want. Foreign visitors have said that America makes mistakes, but it quickly brushes off the dirt and gets to work again. The optimism and “can do” attitude is present here. A social & fiscal conservatism is practically the most rarest (and odd) creature when compared to Western Europe. American libertarianism seems like a creature mostly confined to American shores. Basically, our politics adds to our exceptionalism.

I will say that the country is losing its past self and its past values, and exchanging it for a more European self (no offense to all the Europeans as CAF). In that very ironic way, we slowly become “like the rest.”

This is not to say that one cannot live and raise a family elsewhere - I bet I can raise my kids in certain Western European counties (ie England, Ireland, Germany) - but it would be hard press to show me a country that has the verve like America has.

In short the US is a great nation but no more great or less great than any other nation. It happens to be my home.

Then by that reasoning every country is equal. Sorry, but that type of thinking is hollow.

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

“Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”—John Wayne

:clapping:

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

Let us recall a few of the great accomplishments of the United States of America shall we?

1. Fought off a tyranny and replaced it with an orderly government. There were no mass executions unlike the French Revolution
2. Wrote Constitution which made the leaders servants of the people.
3. Protected the rights of the individual. Remember the guarantees in the Constitution to trial by jury, the Bill of Rights, the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. All of these protections that we take for granted, the Founding Fathers argued and bled for them.
4. Set up a system of government that served as model for other countries.
5. Back to back champions in the World Wars.
6. Winning the Cold War
7. Our free-market, stable government, civil rights, and the ability of the individual to succeed has made our country one of the most if not the most attractive destination for immigrants.
8. The incredible innovations that have come from Americans. The lightbulb? Henry Ford’s affordable automobiles?
9. We donated $1.4 billion to Haiti within a year of the 2010 earthquake
10. We landed on the Moon

American is exceptional, and we have the achievements to prove it. :extrahappy:

 

[Raskolnikov]

I most certainly do not believe in American exceptionalism.

America has accomplishments, great. So did the Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, the British Empire, Germany, France. All of their contributions to humanity can be argued to match the US’s contributions. The British Empire, remember, invented the idea of the parliamentary republic, the Germans fostered modern science more than perhaps any other nation, France has made cultural contributions beyond couning. To say that America’s accomplishments are definitively greater than other nations (or to suppose that accomplishments can be so easily quantified an compared) is questionable in my opinion. It also ignores the fact that America’s great political accomplishments were largely just continuations Britain’s political accomplishments. The US just took it a few steps further.

Certainly, power itself does not make a country exceptional in any meaningful way. Nor do particular historical events place us particularly ahead of our cousins. Was the US the first real democracy in modern times, sure. It was also one of the last western nations to outlaw slavery, behind even Russia, and decades behind Britain. Russia played at least as important (in fact probably much more important) a role in defeating fascism as the US. And the UK played every bit as important a role in spreading democracy. India, the world’s largest, one, after all, is a former British colony. (and yes, I know the British only spread democracy reluctantly in that case, but the same often went for the US; just look at the history of Cuba and Iran for poignant examples).

So no, I do not think that the US has either any special obligations or special rights that other countries do not have, other than what may come with having extraordinary power (which many other countries have had historically and some other ones do today). And the US is perfectly capable, just like any country, of turning against the beliefs it previously held dear. And if it did so, would one who holds those beliefs dear not be obligated to turn against one’s country for the sake of one’s ideals? In the end, all countries are ephemeral compared to some things, and all will eventually perish one way or the other.

Honestly, I see this discussion as ultimately resembling the old schoolyard debate about which kid had the best dad, and one kid seriously wants all the other kids to acknowledge that his dad is objectively the best. No doubt, some dads are in fact worse than most, but that doesn’t mean you really do objectively have the ‘best dad in the world’ and all the other kids should just accept it.

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

As someone who use to “hate” the US - and I’m an American - I will say that my attitude have changed. I do believe that the USA is an exceptional country. No other country matched our history and rise to power. No other country is looked at the same in an immigrant’s eyes (just ask my parents and all my family relatives & friends who have immigrated here). No country has the reputation - both good & bad - like the USA.

What makes the USA exceptional is the Constitution and its people who BELIEVE in it and don’t interpret it in insidious ways to get what they want. Foreign visitors have said that America makes mistakes, but it quickly brushes off the dirt and gets to work again. The optimism and “can do” attitude is present here. A social & fiscal conservatism is practically the most rarest (and odd) creature when compared to Western Europe. American libertarianism seems like a creature mostly confined to American shores. Basically, our politics adds to our exceptionalism.

I will say that the country is losing its past self and its past values, and exchanging it for a more European self (no offense to all the Europeans as CAF). In that very ironic way, we slowly become “like the rest.”

This is not to say that one cannot live and raise a family elsewhere - I bet I can raise my kids in certain Western European counties (ie England, Ireland, Germany) - but it would be hard press to show me a country that has the verve like America has.

Then by that reasoning every country is equal. Sorry, but that type of thinking is hollow.

I appreciate and love my country. It’s God #1, of course.
Mexico copied our Constitution, then scraped it when they realized the power it gave to
the people. Most of the problems we are having has to do with those who are (and have
been) ignoring the Constitution. Separation of powers anyone?

 

[TRH1292]

It is practically impossible to believe in “American Exceptionalism” or any form of Nationalism without contradicting essential parts of Catholic Teaching.

It’s always interesting to see how bizarre this sort of stuff appears to Catholics from other nations.

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

It is practically impossible to believe in “American Exceptionalism” or any form of Nationalism without contradicting essential parts of Catholic Teaching.

It’s always interesting to see how bizarre this sort of stuff appears to Catholics from other nations.

Such as…?

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

I most certainly do not believe in American exceptionalism.

America has accomplishments, great. So did the Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, the British Empire, Germany, France. All of their contributions to humanity can be argued to match the US’s contributions. The British Empire, remember, invented the idea of the parliamentary republic, the Germans fostered modern science more than perhaps any other nation, France has made cultural contributions beyond couning. To say that America’s accomplishments are definitively greater than other nations (or to suppose that accomplishments can be so easily quantified an compared) is questionable in my opinion. It also ignores the fact that America’s great political accomplishments were largely just continuations Britain’s political accomplishments. The US just took it a few steps further.

Certainly, power itself does not make a country exceptional in any meaningful way. Nor do particular historical events place us particularly ahead of our cousins. Was the US the first real democracy in modern times, sure. It was also one of the last western nations to outlaw slavery, behind even Russia, and decades behind Britain. Russia played at least as important (in fact probably much more important) a role in defeating fascism as the US. And the UK played every bit as important a role in spreading democracy. India, the world’s largest, one, after all, is a former British colony. (and yes, I know the British only spread democracy reluctantly in that case, but the same often went for the US; just look at the history of Cuba and Iran for poignant examples).

So no, I do not think that the US has either any special obligations or special rights that other countries do not have, other than what may come with having extraordinary power (which many other countries have had historically and some other ones do today). And the US is perfectly capable, just like any country, of turning against the beliefs it previously held dear. And if it did so, would one who holds those beliefs dear not be obligated to turn against one’s country for the sake of one’s ideals? In the end, all countries are ephemeral compared to some things, and all will eventually perish one way or the other.

Honestly, I see this discussion as ultimately resembling the old schoolyard debate about which kid had the best dad, and one kid seriously wants all the other kids to acknowledge that his dad is objectively the best. No doubt, some dads are in fact worse than most, but that doesn’t mean you really do objectively have the ‘best dad in the world’ and all the other kids should just accept it.

American Exceptionalism has nothing to do with anything but freedom and liberty.

The loyal British subject will stand and proudly announce that he serves his Queen. That is fine.

The American Citizen will announce that he serves himself, his God and his family. Our government SERVES us.

America is the EXCEPTION to the rule. Before our country was founded all peoples served their monarchs, rulers, governments. We changed all that. We appealed to man’s basic desire to be free to control his own destiny.

Today people still will not do anything unless it is permitted (or allowed) by their government.
In America we do whatever we want unless or until it is illegal. And we decide what is legal or illegal.

 

[phil_at_dayboro]

American Exceptionalism has nothing to do with anything but freedom and liberty.

The loyal British subject will stand and proudly announce that he serves his Queen. That is fine.

The American Citizen will announce that he serves himself, his God and his family. Our government SERVES us.

America is the EXCEPTION to the rule. Before our country was founded all peoples served their monarchs, rulers, governments. We changed all that. We appealed to man’s basic desire to be free to control his own destiny.

Today people still will not do anything unless it is permitted (or allowed) by their government.
In America we do whatever we want unless or until it is illegal. And we decide what is legal or illegal.

I think you watch to much South Park.

 

[PazzoGrande]

American Exceptionalism has nothing to do with anything but freedom and liberty.

The loyal British subject will stand and proudly announce that he serves his Queen. That is fine.

The American Citizen will announce that he serves himself, his God and his family. Our government SERVES us.

America is the EXCEPTION to the rule. Before our country was founded all peoples served their monarchs, rulers, governments. We changed all that. We appealed to man’s basic desire to be free to control his own destiny.

Today people still will not do anything unless it is permitted (or allowed) by their government.
In America we do whatever we want unless or until it is illegal. And we decide what is legal or illegal.

I must ask, do you have extensive experience living outside of the US as a civilian?

Because, as someone who has, I find that assessment to be inaccurate.

 

[oldcelt]

I do not.

I am patriotic to a certain degree and I love the US because it is my home and because of certain aspects of it’s history and ethos. At the same time I don’t believe there is anything qualitatively different about the US versus other nations. I don’t believe that God had any special hand in the creation of the US- except to the same degree as He has his hand in all human endeavors.

I suppose this question has come up for me as I am considering joining the Knights of Columbus and I understand that part of their oath- at least of the Fourth Degree has to do with a kind of acknowledgment of a divine aspect to our Constitution.

I have heard Justice Anton Scalia express this before as a belief that God was somehow working in a special and specific way in the creation of our Constitution.

I don’t agree with this. I see it as just another Constitution with it’s own strengths and weaknesses- the same as the US.

In short the US is a great nation but no more great or less great than any other nation. It happens to be my home.

What do others think?

This nation was founded by some extraordinary people who had benefited greatly from the enlightenment. We are not exceptional in any other way and if that oath says that, I would not take it.
Like you, I love my country and enlisted to protect her (no combat), but we are just like ever other nation. We’ve had many great times and some real --fill in the blank–,