The end of American exceptionalism?
The editors of The Christian Century have written perceptively about American exceptionalism:
What will be interesting to watch is how American people and leaders adjust to new economic constraints and diminished expectations. One temptation will be to look for scapegoats, at home and abroad.At stake in this question is the long tradition of American exceptionalism—the myth that the U.S. has not only a unique history but a special destiny that makes it economically, politically and even spiritually greater than other countries. This strong version of American exceptionalism is an article of faith for some politicians, and it is likely to be a campaign theme in the 2012 presidential election. Mike Huckabee, a possible candidate in that election, says: "To deny American exceptionalism is in essence to deny the heart and soul of this nation."
But what is it that makes America exceptional? Its military might? Its economic power? One often hears that the U.S. is exceptional in offering its citizens unmatched economic opportunity. But in fact the U.S. has been surpassed by other countries in measurements of social mobility. With its widening gap between the rich and the poor, the decline of its middle class and crises in its health care and educational systems, the U.S. is no longer the golden land of opportunity.
The editors suggest that Christians might have something particular to contribute to shaping a new national identity. What do you think that might be?
Why do we need a new, or any, national identity? Won't we just use it, like the current identity, and the expectation of patriotism that has nothing to do with how I personally feel about The United States, to draw more boundaries, more walls, that define those who are in and acceptable and those who are not?
Posted by Lois Keen![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 10, 2011 1:32 PM
What is it that makes America exceptional?
I write as a citizen and resident of the UK, who has worked with Americans and visited the US several times. Your people make you exceptional; their warmth, their hospitality, their open-heartedness.
You have an immense diversity of landscape, cultures, faiths. Diversity can enrich but it can also provide more excuses for hatred.
My personal image of the US is not of a 'world power' or a huge military machine. It is of a beautiful country that is home to people I love. Not all my American friends are Christians. Probably most of them are not. Christian values are, however, the ethos within which they live their lives.
Stop rattling your sabres and show your feminine side. Nobody out here believes that your interference in the affairs of other countries is for anything other than self-interest. You can still be a world power, but not necessarily in economic or military terms. Do whatever you can to gather together your people of faith and really, peaceably, become a world power for good.
Posted by Pam Baker![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 10, 2011 2:43 PM