Bradford Perkins The Distorted Prism Summary

Howard Zinn defines American exceptionalism as the belief “...that the United States alone has the right, whether it be divine sanction or moral obligation, to bring civilization, or democracy, or liberty to the rest of the world, by violence if necessary.” The American exceptionalist ideology has domestic implications found in political rhetoric and within the founding of the United States. External implications of exceptionalism are evident in American foreign policy and militaristic interventions such as Vietnam and Iraq. A new definition of has arisen, highlighting the negative implications of exceptionalism, “Roast beef and apple pie explained exceptionalism but now we are back to moldy rye bread and water.”

Charles Murray’s American Exceptionalism invokes ideas I had not considered before. The way he describes America in its early life is unrecognizable to me. Murray discusses the geographic setting, American ideology, the traits of the American people, and the operation of the American political system. Now, centuries later than the time he described, it is like America had gone on a rapidly fast down torrent. I agree with Murray’s ideas of the exceptional traits America exuded, however, the traits I observe now, and as Murray talks about later on in the book, have taken on a different meaning. It is almost as if the once amazing concepts have been reduced to nearly half their worth. I am in no way stating America is no longer exceptional, but

John Winthrop's dream was for the Massachusetts colony to be respected by the world for how its people give to others in need and for the relationships people in the community had with each other. The Pilgrims and Puritans came to america to practice their own religion. When the Pilgrims arrived in America; they were supposed to be in Virginia. A storm set them off course and they ended up in Cape Cod. The Pilgrims decided to call the area Plymouth, and because there was no government there; they created a new government known as the Mayflower Compact. When the Puritans came 10 years later with John Winthrop. He wanted to make a government that was based around God and one that would be a good example for other colonies to follow in the future.

Over and over again, Williams illustrates this theme of “American Exceptionalism.” Throughout the book, there are several occurrences in which the “We are the best, and all that we are doing is of benefit to the world” mentality is shown. On one hand, there is nothing wrong with being proud of roots as an American and believing that America is the greatest country, but on the other hand, using this thought process in in order to legitimize the domination and control of other nations unlike America while preaching one set of values and acting on others, is wrong. We see these actions play out time and time again as America invades and controls other countries “to help” them, however, prohibits the country from experiencing the full advantages of self-determination – a value that America claims to hold i.e. a tragedy of American Diplomacy.

Since its inhabitance, competition and dominance has been a concept that remains prevalent throughout American life. Past ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, Cultural Imperialism, and Ethnocentrism are all practices and beliefs comprising what it means to be American for many citizens, while also continually shaping outside perception of Americans today. On one hand, many countries have and continue to fully embrace American culture, globalization, and the rise of capitalism. In contrast, many countries have and continue to reject America’s stride for world assimilation regarding their ideals and values.

America felt the need to move towards the idea of foreign policy from 1895 to 1920; their success was a combination of idealism and self-interest. Both were influential in the decision to venture outside of U.S borders. America expanded due to idealistic view such as: The White Man’s Burden, Religious motivation, a social contract with the Western Hemisphere and the Spanish American War. However, self interest offered more of a substantial force with America’s desire for a stronger Navy, foreign market, power, pride, and the influences of the Roosevelt Corollary. When both ideas are combined they create one of the most influential and globally shaping decisions of our world.

Throughout the development of one of the greatest countries in the world, the he United States had created a world empire between 1890 and 1945. In such a short amount of time, the country as a whole as able to produce a homogenization of life where the measurement of national and international power and the level of control of economic, military, political, media, institutions, education, sport, music, etc. came together to form a new kind of American cutlure. However, during this time, it was all about the projection of the “American-self” and demonstrating characteristics and qualities that distinguished the U.S. (us) and the foreign outsider (them).

How other countries view America’s position in the world varies not only based on America’s actions within the international arena, or foreign policy, but also how Americans view the actions of their leaders and policy makers. For both internal and external views, America’s “standing” revolves around two primary elements – how well the US government does what it says it is going to do and how well it stands up to threats against it. While these are not the only elements considered, America’s credibility and pride are viewed as key to how well it will respond to interactions both within and outside its borders. A country’s world view, or standing, can vary over time and be impacted by a number of things such as where a country is located,

For imperialists it was the possibility to experiment with democracy in other countries, and to spread their way of life. Litke (2012) seems to view early American imperialists as people who wanted to be different, and to introduce these differences to newly discovered cultures. Winthrop does not seem to want this, or be focused on this. His goals seems to be focused more inward in the colonies, rather than around the globe. Although Litke (2012) considers Winthrop to be distinctly anti-imperialist. It is clear that many others do consider Winthrop to be exactly that. For Litke (2012) there is a clear divide between Winthrop’s American exceptionalism and imperialism. This is mainly due to the fact that Winthrop was focused on life in the colonies, and the people within them (Noll 2012). This is certainly an excellent example of American exceptionalism, but does not seem to fall within the realms of imperialism. However Winthrop’s American exceptionalist attitude has since been interpreted by some politicians as being imperialist, and therefore is used as an argument for imperialism. Litke (2012) considers this misuse of Winthrop’s sermon to be an insult to Winthrop and detrimental to American

It uses the same strands of exceptionalism to justify its actions as it did for its expansion into the Pacific. America interferes with countries on the claims that they need to be liberated or that it’s making the world safe for democracy. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is an excellent example of the imperialism sought out by modern America. In his Iraqi War Address in 2005, President George W. Bush said that, “As freedom takes route in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty, as well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorists will… lose their hopes for turning the region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world.” America has acted as the World’s Policeman in the Middle East, continually forcing American assimilation and Western ideologies on independent nations. Once again, these acts for freedom are again undermined by the military intervention in Iraq and the use of harsh counterterrorism measures that undercut the symbolism of freedom (Lagon). America promotes democracy forcefully on other countries so that they are easier to fall under Western influence in factors such as free trade and economic

I believe that McClay and Zinn provide a persuasive argument elaborating their notion of the validity of America’s “unique” mission. However, I am inclined to agree with Professor McClay in his assertion in the mythical nature of American exceptionalism that has promoted social cohesiveness and propelled America as the “beacon of liberty and democracy” (McKenna & Feingold 2011, 14). The existence of present-day America developed after a period of empirical practices that allowed us to incorporate the positive qualities of democracy and make note of the negative aspects of wrongfully enforcing democratic ideals internationally (McKenna & Feingold 2011). Since our inception, the “invisible hand” of “divine providence” has directed America to propagate freedom and democracy to all peoples of the world (McKenna & Feingold 2011, 2-3). The majority of American Presidents

America’s foreign policy affects each and every person in the world in terms of prices, taxes, supply of gasoline, and the lives of our soldiers also depends on how we associate with US. This country can bring hope to the lives of the poorest people in the world. It is because of their persona that they are able to respect the lives of others who are not even their own. Most American citizens believe in embracing their values, justice, fairness, democracy, a helping hand when there is need and hard work. Their values are applied from their households, to

In truth, its history dates back as far as the sixteenth century, following the first great expansion of European capitalism, which resulted in slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism (Ezema, 2009). Throughout history, world powers have continually sought to perpetuate their way of life: from the philosophy and mythology of the Greeks, the political ideologies and linguistics of the Romans, and the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance (Daghrir, 2013). Thus, it comes as no surprise that the aftermath of the post-war era, which saw the collapse of Soviet communism and the emergence of the United States as the sole hegemon, saw the aggressive spread of American ideals, values, and beliefs. Indeed, just as American goods flooded world markets in the post-World War II era; American culture now penetrates every continent through the aggressive development of mass communications, trade expansion and information technology.

“America was conducting business as usual, but others were joining the game.” (Zakaria, 221). All this time we thought we were on top, we were actually slowly becoming less and less of leader and more a bystander as the rest of the world is slowly rising around us. Zakaria shows in that quote that as America has been continuing business like always, and because of this we have failed to realize our standing with the world around us. In the book The Post-American World, Zakaria shows us the challenges that America faces today. I believe the United States is most affected by our ignorance, competition, and worldly participation.

Many strategies have been devised by empires over centuries, these strategies and decisions have helped shape the world as it is in its present state. The author explains how strategic decisions made in the past were the wrong decisions in his opinion, as John Perkins had seen first hand the devastation that could be caused by the American government in its pursuit for a “global empire”.