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American Exceptionalism (Hal Cohen)
June 29, 2010 -- We hear a lot about American Exceptionalism from the right. This is essentially the idea that the United States is the greatest place on Earth, which, by the way, it is. However, not everyone agrees with the concept. Notably, people who are not American and even some Americans, those from Canada and Mexico, do not share our view. Sure, they are American, they are just the wrong kind.
President Obama was criticized for saying that he does indeed believe in American Exceptionalism, just like people from Greece believe in Greek exceptionalism, and people from Norway believe in Norwegian exceptionalism. I may be wrong about the nations he mentioned in the statement, but the sentiment is accurate. It was treated as a criminal act to acknowledge the fact that people love their country, even when that country is not our country.
Now, I’m not just a jingoistic prick who believes that the United States is the greatest nation on earth, I’m a New York prick who believes that I live in the greatest city on earth. By the way, I do. Others are free to believe in the greatness of their hometowns, and they may be great, but only one is the greatest and that is New York. Believe what you want, but you are wrong.
I do have a problem with these “American Exceptionalism” purveyors. They don’t believe themselves. In 2008, as the economy was collapsing, many on the right said the economy was still strong. As evidence mounted that this was not true, they said the fundamentals of the economy were still strong. Finally, as the disaster became undeniable, the talking point was that the American Worker was the foundation of the economy and they believed in the American Worker.
The Right does not now, did not then, and never will believe in the American Worker. On June 1st, federal support of unemployment benefits expired. On Friday, June 25th, the latest effort to extend them failed. The right (Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln may be Democrats, but they are on the “right”) sees extending unemployment benefits as a bad thing. They see the unemployed as lazy, happy to collect benefits, and reluctant to look for work until they have to.
This is where their concept of American Exceptionalism fails. If America, and by America, I mean the United States, is exceptional, then its citizenry must be exceptional. Exceptional people don’t cheat, lie or steal. They do not game the system. Exceptional people are can-do people.
How can you believe in American Exceptionalism if you don’t believe in exceptional Americans?
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CreatedTuesday, June 29 2010
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Last modifiedWednesday, November 06 2013
