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Essay On American Exceptionalism

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More than similarities and differences, this week’s readings forced me to question issues of compatibility. While messages of exceptionalism could encapsulate discussions of human rights implicitly, explicitly, or mutually, many of these conversations do not. A state actor could say “The United States has the best record of human rights” However, often, to have productive discussions on human rights, a state would be forced to put aside the ways that they are ‘exceptional’, and rather focus on the ways in which they need improvement. Thus, the findings by Gilmore could contribute to the messages surrounding human rights dialogue. Frequently United States leaders will only send out messages that they feel will be perceived highly by national …show more content…

It tells the global stage the narrative we want the world to know while simultaneously giving insights into how we view our self. If the United States both believes, and wants to be perceived as, a God-fearing nation, a light for other nations to follow, and a nation where everyone has an opportunity to succeed, it is logical that it would avoid statements that contradict this story. Consequently, because exceptionalism is a mechanism used to separate the United States from its competitors. Gilmores conclusion that messages with exceptionalism occur more with competitors than with states that do not have the same relative power as the United States. In this sense, exceptionalism can be a mechanism to provide assurances to allies, and when used out of context or in the wrong situation, it can provoke adversaries. Thus, messages of exceptionalism can have lasting consequences for the United States. For instance, in 2002 President Bush’s gave a speech where he labeled Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the “axis of evil”, and highlighted the United States as a defender of liberty and an example of democracy. This explicitly impacted how American’s perceived these nations, and influenced the future course of foreign policy with these

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It seems to be easier for an American citizen to name quotes from movies or lyrics from popular songs than to explain the United States of America’s effect on the world. The Oblivious Empire written by Mart Hertsgarrd discusses how America’s society seems to not comprehend how our government treats other countries and seems too naïve on the reasons why other countries or groups of people do not like us. Hertsgarrd discusses how the United States truly treats countries around the world and the consequences our actions have caused. An analysis of Hertsgarrd essay shows strong points on how our society is oblivious to the world outside our country and do not truly know how our government affects the world. Throughout Hertsgarrd essay he describes how the United States government tends to believe they have the right to be the judge on how other countries’ treatment of their citizens and

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Address is its inaugurating document, it is not a tradition separate from liberty, but simply the means of defending the first tradition. Moreover, one of McDougall’s main purposes throughout is to show that unilateralism was not isolationism, which in fact never existed. “Our vaunted tradition of ‘isolationism,’” he states, “is no tradition at all, but a dirty word that interventionists, especially since Pearl Harbor, hurl at anyone who questions their policies” (p. 40). That the term functions as a smear (and a proven method of forestalling debate) is true enough. But it is hard to see how Washington’s doctrine can be equated with McDougall’s unilateralism.

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Alfred Bester says that there are two threads to his view of American Exceptionalism: one based on Seymour Martin Lipset and another on Frederick Jackson Turner.1 He says that Martin Lipset said that the United States is exceptional because it came out of a "revolutionary event" that set up America as "the first new nation" and built a vision for the future on the ideology that caused them to break with England in the first place.2 He says that Turner thought that because the U.S. had a lot of unclaimed land that regular people could own land and not have to depend on anyone else. This means that there wouldn’t be an aristocracy and that small land-owners stuck to the values of the Revolution.3 The combination of what Lipset and Turner said

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American Exceptionalism was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. To illustrate how the American way of thought is superior to the other ways of the world, Tocqueville expresses that the American way of thought is distinctively unique and special. This distinction is exemplified through liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and Laissez-Faire Economics. These qualities prove America’s exceptionality and difference from other countries. Although American Exceptionalism originated in the early 1800s, the idyllic values Tocqueville paints in his book can be seen throughout American history.

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Famous French historian Alexis de Tocqueville once said, “America is great because she is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” (qtd. in Carson 651.) In “Recovering America’s Exceptionalism,” Ben Carson explains how we are losing touch with the values that once made America a great country.

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With great power comes great responsibility. That of moral, political and economic power has divided America into three different selections. That power must be managed and not push upon other countries and their views… we must be strong in our political moves, military gains, and economic growth. Which in turn scared our “ally” friends into believing we will take over there the way of life and turn it into an American way of

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American Exceptionalism works under the idea that the U.S is unique when compared to all the other countries. In U.S politics, this is often interpreted to mean that the U.S is better than all other countries. This mindset causes problems when making decisions about how to interact with other countries. In an article from The National Interest, it talks about the U.S having a “rule-based foreign policy” that other countries should follow. While these rules are usually norms that are widely accepted and generally good, the U.S often breaks them.

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In American culture, there are certain “living mythologies” that have become imbedded in our identity as a nation. All of the societal myths that exist in the United States can be considered a result of so-called “False American Exceptionalism.” From early childhood to adulthood, the idea that America behaves better than other nations, is responsible for all the good in the world, and has some divine responsibility to regulate international affairs has been drilled into American minds. Throughout the decades, these beliefs have been showcased by dozens of American leaders. Politicians have described the U.S. as the “last best hope of Earth” and an “indispensable nation.”

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The reality during the time was tyranny; liberties being destroyed; rules being broken; people treated unfairly. What better time was it for such meaningful ideas to come forth? “American exceptionalism refers to qualities that were first observed in the opening century of our history” (Murray 6). Throughout this article, Gordon Wood undoubtedly believes that this rhetoric the Americans possessed was a very exceptional trait. While this rhetoric was exceptional over 200 years ago, sadly it has not remained.

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As Americans, we often pride ourselves on our strength. Our grandfathers survived the Great Depression and stormed the beaches of Normandy, and they did not complain. This refusal to retreat from a tough challenge is what makes us great as a nation. And as a result of our strength, we are natural leaders. As the world’s superpower, America has an obligation to lead the world in terms of ideas.

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These two policies were used as strategies, but in different circumstances in order to achieve the same liberal ends. But, after World War II, is said that it became a fully internationalist country. On another hand, the special character of the United States as a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideas and personal liberty is what we call Exceptionalism. American exceptionalism turned the tide in a positive sense after its involvement in World War II. Its role as a benefactor and the provision of aid to other nations like the Marshall Plan and also its leadership in the organizations of the Western Nations made way for short descriptions meant to portray America’s place and ranking among the nations as

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The first part of Tocqueville’s definition of exceptionalism is liberty. Liberty is defined as “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority,” and liberty has always been a defining factor of American values. Liberty has constantly been present in America but with the start of the new millennium liberty was threatened like never before. September 11th started the decade of unrest and challenge of freedom, President George W. Bush said to congress after the terrorism act that “freedom itself is under attack” and under attack it was. To protect the citizens of the United States, the congress issued the Patriot Act on October 26th, 2001 (Duignan).

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The premise most normally refered to for American exceptionalism is the possibility that the Unified States and its kin hold an uncommon place on the planet, by offering opportunity and seek after humankind, got from an extraordinary adjust of open and private interests administered by established goals that are centered around individual and monetary flexibility. Some Assembled States residents have utilized the term to claim moral prevalence for America or Americans. Others utilize it to allude to the American idea, or dream as itself an outstanding perfect. Americans can demonstrate this for other individuals and countries to reproduce and can help them with developing their own law based, free social orders.

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The same is evident in the film, Independence Day, as sharing the critical vulnerability that other countries can use to overcome the alien invasion would benefit American interests abroad (Desch 17). Considering the position that the United States assume in the film, a notable theme that arises relates to the notion of ‘soft power’. Evidently, ‘soft power has the potential of occupying a distinct position in the nation’s foreign policy. To an extent, such is possible based on the manner that the country is positioned in the normative struggle on the role that the US plays in the World system (Eriksson and Norman 425). It is argued that ‘soft power’ that the United States had amassed, the popularity of the American culture and the attraction of it played a part in the nation’s victory in the Cold War.

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A scientific paradigm consists of the accepted theories and methods of practice that are currently used by the scientific community. In this essay, I will describe how Thomas Kuhn argues that science does not progress cumulatively, but rather progresses through the replacement of older paradigms. Kuhn believes that new theories in science must reject the previous theories, as opposed to building upon them collectively. Kuhn is not claiming that there is no such thing as cumulative science, rather he is saying that the significant evolutions in science must involve a paradigm shift.

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