AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM: THE PATH TO CULTURAL BIPOLARISM

[Joanne98]

For OpEdNews: Gerald Lower - Writer

ON THE BRINK OF COLLECTIVE MANIA AND SUICIDE

"Exceptionalism" is a term with which I did not become familiar until this year. That was soon enough. It is essentially the belief that there are things so special about you and your country as to make you exceptional as a human and your country exceptional as a nation on this earth (2).

Certainly, one can say such things about people like Jefferson and Franklin, Madison, Priestly and Paine. Certainly, one can say such things about people like Darwin, Koch, Pasteur, Einstein and Bohr as well. It is difficult to see how exceptionalism applies to people like Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, and GW Bush. It simply does not apply to those who have failed to maintain human rights and the values of democracy in America.

Consider that Americans still tend to believe that they live in "The Greatest Nation on Earth." It is not true, of course. It is more accurate to say that America is the most despotic nation on earth, with the largest gap between rich and poor in human history.

Many nations are more fair and equitable in the distribution of revenue and resources, and many nations do a far superior job of providing their citizens with medical care and educational needs.

But such half truths, taken as beliefs, are part and parcel of being human. Most people would prefer to take a measure of pride in referring to their homeland ... even if they are not justified in doing so.

Problems emerge for real when belief in exceptionalism is taken to the self-righteous extreme of conferring upon believers the "right" to play a dominant role in the world, to dictate policies and programs to others in defining how the larger world works (3,4,5). This inherent unfairness and inequality is all based on religious assumptions which, in turn, are based on religious mythology (6).

Exceptionalism is a notion as old as western religion. It is a precursor of cultural bipolarism, when entire states (e.g., Rome) and entire nations (British colonialism, German Nazism) go manic , their ideological opposite takes control, and the nation does as it pleases to whomever it pleases ... at everyone's expense.

For better and for worse, the U.S. has had to deal with exceptionalism since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. After all, we were the first nation on earth to break away from the chains of British colonialism and Old Testament Roman religion to establish the world's first human rights-based democracy.

To this day, the religious right wing simply does not "get it" when it comes to comprehension of the anti-Roman origins and the nature of the nascent Christian theology beneath Jefferson's Democracy. Roman religion has nothing to do with the emergence of democracy in America. It is the antithesis of a human rights-based Democracy.

Jefferson and Franklin's separation of church was pure genius, both men knowing that human rights would never survive a right wing religious program. The separation of honest from evil automatically lofted the U.S. to the top of a growing heap of European democracies.

While belief in American superiority has been around all along, most Americans in the generations following Jefferson have been aware of the fact that they had nothing personally to do with the emergence of democracy in America, that they are currently enjoying the fruits of their Father's labors, blessings which ought have been honored and nurtured.

Nevertheless, American exceptionalism has made a comeback in public over the past 40 years (3,4,5) with the increasing global dominion of conservative right wing capitalism, invested almost exclusively in the pursuit of money and power and increasingly justified (since the Reagan era) with Old Testament Roman religion.

As such, contemporary "American exceptionalism" is based on "The Golden Rule," i.e., the notion that those with the gold ought rule, based on the assumption that those with the most gold are the most deserving to rule - as a "chosen" people. American exceptionalism is based entirely on assumptions.

American exceptionalism is based on the assumption that those with ruling class wealth have acquired their riches through entirely honest means, which is seldom the case. None of this plateful of assumptions constitutes a definable idea, but merely weightless assumptions based on religious mythology, as are all examples of unfairness and inequality in the western world (6).

Continued>>.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/AMERICAN-EXCEPTIONALISM-T-by-Gerald-Lower-091010-364.html

[Gman2]

1. The Republicans have made every stinking one of themselves Valedictorian.

Which would make them Valadictators. And the JOB of the GOP now, is to convince them, that the USA is not going down the imperialist rathole, along with all the other empires.

The real problem is not exceptionalism. If you thought yourself special in a vacuum, who cares. It is how you relegate privileges on yourself, and spurn anything critical of US motives. It also embues us with a warmongering WHITE MAN's BURDEN. WEre McCain and his doll elected, we would be foisting many things on the world right now, to hoist us up above all others, to their detriment. I feel there would be world war, right now.

[ipaint]

2. Ruling class wealth controls both parties. n/t

[Demeter]

3. They ARE Exceptional

Exceptionally stupid, greedy, small-minded, racist, sexist, ageist, ugly Americans.

[alarimer]

4. When are we going to accept that America/Americans are NOT exceptional?

We are NOT the greatest, best, freest, most whatever on earth?

It is just such bullshit and it makes me sick.