Persuasive Essay On American Exceptionalism

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

Many other countries had similar ideals but different forms of government; America’s commitment to republicanism caused them to push their ideals on other smaller countries. Bradford Perkins explores the concept of a distorted prism, which he believes effects how America looks at the world and the effect it has on the development of the United States foreign policy. In his scholarly essay, “The Unique American Prism” Perkins believes America views herself as a model for the world to follow. These American ideals of individualism and republicanism are the main concepts discussed within the essay; he mentions how people distort the prism by their own personal experiences with which allows them to perceive the world as less than equal to America’s superiority. This can lead to problems in foreign policy due to the superiority complex. Perkins views this American exceptionalism as detrimental to foreign relations. He believes in isolation from foreign wars and conflicts, but is irresolute to decide if America’s global market should be expanded through foreign

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

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.

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

The term “American Exceptionalism” means that the United States has held on to great stability throughout its 230 years in contrast with other nations, who have succumb to civil unrest and revolution more frequently throughout their respective national histories. The term arose in the 1830s and was coined by Alexis DeTocqueville. As DeTocqueville traveled throughout the nation, he discerned America was quite exceptional due in part to it being founded on democracy, liberty, particularly individual liberties, and equality.

The American Dream is successful; however, this “dream” only applies to a select few. To be included in this dream is really challenging. In short, being colored is one disadvantage you can encounter. Also, being a minority does not help the situation. In most cases even being a woman has its problems. This includes white woman too. Being poor is also a huge problem. This condition alone excludes most of the population. The American Dream goes to those who are privileged . When a common pet is given a home and food it is basically guaranteed a good life. Success is promised; even though it 's a pet and can only attain a certain amount of success. It

During this year of 1794, we have come through many tribulations and have suffered to great extent for our freedom of Britain. This country has lost fathers and sons to bring us freedom and ensure our rights are kept. It brings me displeasure to write about grievances with our own government. However we must be aware of current and past issues and let it be known that this country and government will defend its people’s rights and preserve their freedom.

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

The United States of America is perhaps the country whose pillars are based on immigrants . Every year millions of immigrants come to this country . According to the FBI research,each year 10 million immigrants come in this country legally and illegally .After coming to this country many immigrants try to settle like American people. According to CNN news“78% of immigrants did not want their children being Americanized .

While some find us arrogant, condescending and imperialistic, those who have come to join us in America find that there is some truth in the notion that our country is unique. Nowhere else is the freedom to express and improve yourself so widespread, and no other country welcomes those seeking that freedom so openly. Assimilation to our culture is not forced, but it is the rare individual who does not welcome it once they are here. Many people consider themselves to be the best humans on the planet, or maybe the only ones chosen by their god to succeed, but nobody can claim to be as powerful and prosperous as Americans are. To us the idea of American Exceptionalism is not propaganda or a myth; it is the understanding that the only way to the make the most of oneself is to have the freedom to do so.

In the western sense of the world, most would agree that the United States is undoubtedly an exceptional nation. Yet, there continues to be debate over the idea of American exceptionalism as each individual has their own opinions on the expression. The theory of exceptionalism dates back to Alexis De Tocqueville, a French political thinker who described the country as quite exceptional and believed no democratic individuals will ever be placed in a similar one (De Tocqueville, 1835). According to Webster’s dictionary, exceptionalism is described as the perception that a country, society, institution, movement, or time period that is exceptional in some way that does not need to conform to normal rules or general principles and is regarded as giving it a special role in history or world affairs. This paper focuses on the arguments of Harold Koh who believes that American exceptionalism has both good and bad sides, whereas, Ted Bromund asserts that exceptionalism is a set of pure virtues. I believe there is good reason why many Americans consider the United States an exceptional nation and I agree with Bromund’s arguments based on similar beliefs and perceptions of exceptionalism.

Whenever a country or a nation becomes a superpower, it starts describing itself as a unique or a truly exceptional country. The Ancient Greeks believed they were exceptional, the French believed they were too, and so did the British. Things haven since changed, in the 21st century, American Exceptionalism has gained traction. The idea of America being a uniquely free nation founded on democratic ideals. American exceptionalism believes the U.S is better than all of the previous exceptional countries, it believes the U.S behaves better than all of the previous exceptional countries and that the United States is responsible for most of the good in the world. These ideas are fleshed out with common quotes describing America such as “shinning city on the hill” or “leader of the free world” (Walt). These ideas of exceptionalisms and patriotisms result in the United States feeling it has the responsibility and authorization to introduce liberal democracy all around the world through any means necessary. In this rush of patriotism, the U.S. ignores to analyze whether it should push countries towards democracies through extreme measures or is it better for both the country being pushed to democracy and the United States for the U.S itself to take a more offhand approach.

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