American Exceptionalism
Posted on | May 29, 2010 | No Comments
On monday night I have an exam for my masters in international studies. The subject I am studying is American Exceptionalism. Below are a a few scattered thoughts post a day of study and reflection.So how is America exceptional? Here are some thoughts that I have pulled together during my study and in prep for the exam:1: America’s founding is exceptionalFrom the 1620s with the Mayflower Compact, the first social contract concept, something special was happening in how America was founded and the devices that were put in place to support it. These early ideas and documents, supported by Puritain thinking about starting the world over again and being the “City on a Hill” (Matt 5:24), were supported more formally by three key documents:a: The declaration of independence written in 1776, set in train a thinking of republic that would be answerable to “we the people”.b: The Constitution – This is the “we the people” document that sets out the limits on executive power and puts the focus on individuals to make of it what they will in the land of great opportunity.c: The Bill of Rights – reflecting what was already held to be truths, that were for once documented and available for all.Worth reflection is the Manifest destiny idea, developed by John O’Sullivan in 1845 that says it is America’s devine destiny to sweep across the continent and with the annexation of Texas (and all the way to California) this destiny certainly seemed to be supported by God!2: The belief in America’s role in the worldAmerica has a special view on its role in the world. For a while there, American’s showed little interest in world affairs, even Woodrow Wilson talked of staying independent of WW1 and when finally the did join, did so with “no selfish ends to serve”. Following Wilson, it is not until Truman that we start to see a sense of global engagement with the $400m rescue package to Greece / Turkey to stop the rise of left-leaning movements and in what has been called the first steps of the containment policy that would drive the Cold War.Today we think America has always had a view of itself as the World’s sheriff, but is that really the case or is it a response to their economic position (relative strength) post both WW1 and WW2? I suspect it is a post WW2 held belief, so it is therefore a relatively recently held view. Under Bush, however, it may be hard to reflect on how this is relatively new, he seemed to enjoy his time in the captains chair!So is America Exceptional?The answer has to be yes in certain areas and no in other areas. However, the areas where America is exceptional are truly significant.Thoughts?
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