I often hear politicians and commentators refer to America and Americans as exceptional. Do people actually believe that, or is it merely an jingoistic excuse for various positions/policies? If folk do believe it, why do they believe America and/or Americans are exceptional? What are the sources of this status and how is it manifested?
Don’t get me wrong, there is no place I’d rather live than the US. But I feel our current position is primarily the result of ous geographic situation including: 2 oceans to protect us from military/political threats; a favorable climate; and great natural resources.
I acknowledge there may be something unique about Americans in that our boundless resources historically contributed to our attracting and encouraging aggressive/visionary folk. But I’m not sure how admirable such a trait is in a more crowded 21st century and beyond.
When public policy issues are discussed, I often hear people talk disparagingly about Canada, or Scandinavia. In what ways do people feel we clearly exceed the rest of the developed world?
My guess is that it is basically something we have invented in order to feel good about ourselves. We have just forgotten to convince the rest of the world about this and that is why we so often have problems with our foreign policy.
All the trash talking about other countries is needed to assure ourselves about our greatness because the very idea of another country being good at something is seen as a challenge. It is a competition.
Well above average; extraordinary: an exceptional memory.
Deviating widely from a norm, as of physical or mental ability:
American exceptionalism as it is normally used includes definition #1 or #3 from the above, not #2. It doesn’t mean that America/Americans are superior to other nations/peoples, but that American/Americans differ from them in fundamental ways.
Tocqueville coined the concept in Democracy in America:
To me, it’s a result of America’s unusual founding, not as an ethnic homeland, but as a newly-minted republic with Enlightenment ideals and a broad continent to conquer, and its history of success piled upon success.
He recognized that the (short) history of America was wildly different from other nations, and was producing different outcomes, as it continues to do.
Very true. It is unfortunate that these days ‘exceptional’ is interpreted as ‘totally awesome’ with the predictable results when we make decisions based on a dream world.
That can certainly happen, but it’s not an effect of the term; jingoist nationalism is almost as old as the United States.
I do, yes. Example, income inequality is correlated with poor nations…and with the United States (and the United Kingdom), which are very wealthy. A possible explanation: exceptionalism; the history of the United States (and the UK) as an economically liberal nation meant that wealth concentrated in select hands; in other nations, economically illiberal policies achieved the same result, but also prevented much of the wealth from being generated in the first place.
Another: violence. America’s violent crime rates are higher than its peer nations’, even those with high numbers of firearms in private hands. A possible explanation: exceptionalism; the history of the United States, with a wild frontier and violence having been used as a liberating rather than an oppressive force, led to a culture of individualists who are willing to kill over matters of honor and see violence as a tool to solve problems.
That also exists, but it’s not properly termed ‘exceptionalism.’
Did just a little googling, and at least some folk seem to define/interpret it differently than you do. And while Tocqueville is generally identified as describing America/ns as exceptional, some folk credit others for coining the phrase American exceptionalism.
It comes from racism from white men’s manifest destiny that allowed them to slaughter the natives and import slaves guilt-free.
edit: It also makes the white men who developed the country feel like they were responsible for the successes of the USA because of their rugged individualism, and not because they stumbled over an entire continent that was flush with resources and none of the old infrastructure of Europe.
It’s always hard for me to believe that people don’t think that the US is an exceptional nation. Consider…the US, as a unified political entity has existed for a relatively short time. We arose from a colony of arguably the most powerful empire the world has ever known. We managed to rebel against that empire, and successfully found not only a new nation, but a democratic nation to boot…something that’s pretty rare in and of itself. During that short time span since we managed to do that, we have not only eclipsed that former empire and surpassed it in every meaningful measure, push our borders from coast to coast to become a continental nation, and have become the worlds most preeminent super power, militarily, economically and culturally, and have been able to dominate the worlds political scene for nearly half a century now with only one serious rival. All this, mind, in a very short time frame. And all of this, while maintaining our democratic origins, which, again is pretty exceptional in and of itself.
How can the US NOT be an exceptional nation, given all of that? As for Americans being exceptional, that’s also pretty apparent. The trouble is, ‘exceptional’ in this context doesn’t mean ‘superior’, which is what I think most people are assuming. It means different. Again, this seems pretty apparent when you compare Americans to citizens of other nations, especially peer nations. Just look at the difference in attitudes between Americans and our European cousins, or the average Japanese and you can see clear delineations of difference. Even the Canadians, who are probably the closest comparable population, have a lot of difference…and are also pretty exception, both as a people and a nation, with a lot of difference between themselves and, say, the other Common Wealth nations.
You are confusing exceptional with admirable. Personally, I think there is much to admire about America…being born in a different country and coming here probably gives me a different perspective…but just because the US is exceptional doesn’t mean we have to be admirable. The British Empire was exceptional, and there was certainly quite a bit of British exceptionalism both in how they perceived themselves and how others perceived them…but that didn’t translate into boundless admiration or universal joy over their place in history. Recall, we rebelled against them and fought 2 fairly bitter wars with them.
I’ve not often heard the public disparage Canada, or Scandinavia for that matter, so I’d need some context for that. I’ve heard some people from a specific political view point attempt to put down or disparage things like Canadian or Scandinavian health care, but that’s pretty obviously politically driven in order to attempt underscore their own views on those things, and what they see as wrong with the other system…or attempts to defend our own institutions by putting down those of others because they are different. Which is a natural tendency, especially of very conservative (not politically necessarily, but emotionally) people to defend what they grew up with and know and understand.
In that they are all different, sure. When studying why some problem affects Albania differently than other Balkan nations due to historical factors unique to Albania, “Albanian exceptionalism” would be a fine term to use.
