Bethany Parkinson Section 73 American Heritage 100 I’ve chosen to focus on one of the first topics E.J. Dionne mentions in Our Divided Political Heart: America’s fear of decline and how this fear would be impossible if it weren’t for an inherent belief in American exceptionalism. Fear of decline is discernible in history from the days of America’s founding, and therefore, America’s confidence in its ability to decline--in its power, its exceptionalism--has also been present since the end of the eighteenth century. In order to explore this idea further, these sources have been assembled. They will be cited using the MLA citation format. Works Cited Chomsky, Noam. “American Exceptionalism: Some Current Case Studies.” Raritan, vol. 35, no. 4, Spring 2016, pp. 1-10, web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=96b49b0f-a3e2-4026-a1ae-8aa3f6073512%40sessionmgr4006&vid=0&hid=4207&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=115324812&db=aph. Accessed 14 Sept. 2016. This source, as can be inferred from its title, explores relevant global case studies in order to explore the idea of American exceptionalism, examining the idea that the …show more content…
Americans, he declares, have a common set of beliefs while maintaining individuality, push for egalitarianism while resisting the pull of socialism, and use religion and foreign policy as weapons. This resource is relevant because it explores American exceptionalism as a key deciding factor--both for good and for evil--in our American heritage. This side-by-side cost/benefit analysis is useful in scrutinizing further not whether American exceptionalism--or a difference in American politics and culture from other those of other countries--exists, but rather if the assured existence of exceptionalism in history has been beneficial and if the continuance of exceptionalism in the future will continue in this