In its own way, America is in fact exceptional. While it may be lacking or struggling in some certain areas, it excels in others. America is exceptional in that it has become a sort of refuge, or safe-haven, harboring those in need and providing them with new, prosperous opportunities. Allowing for new opportunities and extending basic rights to all, America assists in the success of individuals, indirectly advancing the nation as a whole. However, just because America is indeed exceptional in some regards, that does not make it superior over all other nations or imply that our nation is without fault. Hillary Clinton for example once stated, “When we say America is exceptional it means that we recognize America’s unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for …show more content…
Relating back to the idea that by American’s believing they are exceptional and attempting to remain that way, they forge their own path for success, propelling the nation forwards. Different countries competing to be the best push each other to become exceptional. Later, President Obama went on to say, “This dynamic, evolving, pressing, expanding, self-critical experiment… An America that’s chronically dissatisfied with itself, because embedded into our DNA is this striving, aspirational quality to be even better… That's what has driven progress for everybody,” (Article 3). Touching on the primal human instinct for competition and our inability to settle when we know we can do better, he explains how this competition is a basic part of our nature. We are all simply striving for what we believe to be the best and in the process we find competition and take pride in our accomplishments, thus resulting in the aspect of not only American exceptionalism but the exceptionalism of various
Both Alfred Bester and Andre Norton make impassioned claims about the nature of American Exceptionalism, but these claims are very hard to assess objectively. Clearly the excerpt from Bester’s book comes from the Introduction, just as the excerpt from Norton’s article comes from the Conclusion. In both cases we are presented with general statements and are left to wonder if the evidence presented in the body of each work actually supports the claims being asserted.1
What sets America apart from any nation in the world is that it never settle. America, at times, has had the tenancy to spent too long in the darkness of satisfaction and despondency, but never has it settles in shadows. Every single time America has fallen or been knocked down, it has never failed to rise from defeat. It may take months, years and even decades, but America never stops pursuing the perfection of the unparalleled ideals it was founded on.
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
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.”
Conclusion: American exceptionalism is a term used throughout history. Although many leaders and groups believe that America does stand out, the idea of American exceptionalism is proved to be false throughout America's racist and violent history and is still causing issues today, for example the Charlottesville protest. That is why it is important for Americans to not only know the term, but to also understand its meaning and its impact on not only the past but also the future of
In the speech “The Spirit of Liberty ”Learned Hand says, ”Liberty lies in the heart of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much help.” I agree with Hand because if the people think they have no liberty and can never get it they won't fight for liberty. For me to be an American means to have freedom as a whole, equality, and justice.The most important Ideals related to being an American are equality, freedom and justice
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.
“Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave. O'er the land and of the free, and the home of the brave.” These words from our beloved national anthem, are words that this country chooses to live by. Ladies and gentlemen will remove their caps, and then all rise for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. Most Americans have become comfortable about this right and pleasure that we have. To be able to show respect for the ones who aren’t here, and can’t even stand to do so. One professional American football player had another agenda for this time. He decided to kneel instead of stand like we have all become accustomed to. In my generation, we take our freedom and rights for granted. We do this, because we never had
As some believe that America sees itself as superior to other countries and that we abuse our freedoms and opportunities, others believe that America is represented by our history and the desire to bring freedom and opportunity to U.S. citizens and to spread it to other countries around the world. America gives opportunities and life long dreams to people who want to start a new start on life. With the help of our government, we have both private and public interest groups that give Americans the opportunity to thrive in our growing country. U.S. citizens are able to live freely because of the country we live in and our history’s impact on the freedoms and opportunities that we still have to this day from important documents, such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The main role of American Exceptionalism is to “serve as a role model to mankind,” (Foner) and to bring opportunity and freedom to the people of not only America but also all around the world.
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
American ‘Exceptionalism’: Superiority or A Novelty? In order to properly examine the weight of the term “American exceptionalism”, one must first evaluate the meaning of the words separately. The word ‘exceptional’ is often defined in two manners: superior or unusually atypical. When coupled with the word ‘American’, it is easy to assume that this term translates to American superiority.
Americans through the years of existence have adapted well to the radical changes throughout the world. Technology, independence and social equality are some of the diverse concepts the United States have adapted to and developed in order to become a more unified country. Our nation believes that it is exceptional when it comes to other countries worldwide. As can be shown through the popular reference to America as the ‘shining city on a hill’. The term “American exceptionalism” is derived from ideals held by many Americans throughout history. Different people have analyzed American exceptionalism through multiple literary devices. Works such as A Model of Christian Charity, What is an American and Acres of Diamonds illustrate the
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Our nation’s history plays an important role in American society, it sets forth the foundation on which our morals and values are based on as Americans. If we truly are one united nation under God, and our morals and values are based on what history tells us, why is it then that there is so much disparity among the American people. One reason is that our history textbooks and what we are taught by educational leaders only emphasize American Exceptionalism. The history of our nation is not fully disclosed, it omits the nasty and ugly parts. It is time that the U.S. let their skeletons out of the closet, the truth needs to be told no matter how ugly or nasty it is. The period in history known as the Nadir of Race relations, 1890 through the1960’s between whites and blacks is a prime example of American Exceptionalism.
In today’s world, many people consider our country, The United States of America, to be outstanding and a great country. Others do not think the same. This concept is known as American exceptionalism. This concept has been debated for many years, and to this day it still is. Although American exceptionalism can be hard to define, there are many ways to define it. Some say that we are exceptional because we are superior to everybody else and are better. Others say that God has given us the power to help us succeed. There are many different ways to view it or to understand why we are an exceptional country. Exceptional means that something stands out or is great, and adding American in front of it means that our country is exceptional in one form or another. No matter how one views it, everyone has a standpoint on the concept. Liberals like to think that we are ordinary and because of this, they do not like to believe in the exceptionalism and are “antiexceptionalists.” Conservatives on the other hand, like to think that we are special and unique compared to other countries. Therefore, they believe that we are an exceptional country. The United States of America is different than any other country in the world and that is what helps make us exceptional. From our freedom, to the beautiful country that we live in. Our nation is not only smart and strong, but it is diverse and unique.