A fairly common academic debate I have is over the perceived nature of America’s base state. Is America an exceptional country by its vary nature. To many Americans this seems self evident. This idea of American exceptionalism is so widely held as to be a cornerstone of American politics and self image. Many U.S. presidents including FDR, Ronald Reagan, and John Kennedy strongly held to the maxim of America being a special and exceptional nation.
The reason I bring it up is because it is a long held opinion of Conservative Republicans that a disproportional number of Democrats hold a disdain for said “American Exceptionalsim”, believing that America is NOT a exceptional country and that the world would NOT be better off being more “American like.” It is often cited as a reason of distrust in the liberal establishment of the Democratic party and (I believe) the focal reason why Americans historically and overwhelmingly trust Republican administrations with national defense (present administration excluded.)
I had never actually seen hard poll numbers on this phenomenon before; leading me to believe that it was simply a social stereotype. Then I read some really interesting numbers by U.S. News & World Report pollster Scott Rasmussen. Those numbers are what follows:
- America is generally fair and decent: 64%
- America is generally unfair and discriminatory: 22%
- The world would be a better place if other countries behaved more like the U.S: 62%
- The world would be a worse place if other countries behaved more like the U.S: 14%
- (Republicans) America is generally fair and decent: 83%
- (Republicans) America is generally unfair and discriminatory: 7%
- (Democrats) America is generally fair and decent: 46%
- (Democrats) America is generally unfair and discriminatory: 37%
Those are some pretty stark numbers. I quote them here for reference, but what do you thing this seems to say about the differences between the two parties?
My belief in American exceptionalism is why I vote Democrat – because I believe when I walk down the streets of another country, I should be welcomed as an American, not shunned because I am one. I believe that the American dream and the American concept of civil rights are the best things the human race has ever created, and neither of those things should ever be denied to anyone.
I did not (and never would have) put you in the Democrat 37%. Minus the communist flag and all, I have generally considered you to be a great American patriot. I do have a question though. Does this:
“I believe that the American dream and the American concept of civil rights are the best things the human race has ever created, and neither of those things should ever be denied to anyone.”
mean that you support the war in Iraq (not attempting to make any statement about HOW the war was carried out or administration justification for the war)? The war looks like it will undoubtedly give civil rights and the possibility of the American dream to a group of people who have only known dictatorship for the last 30 years.
It\’s not really a support/not support situation. Do I support bringing civil rights to those who have suffered under dictatorship? Yes. Absolutely. But that comes with some qualifiers.
There are many other dictatorships, some worse than Saddam\’s regime ever was (especially in Africa), and places that had far fewer civil rights. The kinds of places where the government condones female-genital mutilation, for example. If this conflict was truly about freeing those people, then we would have landed in western Africa and simply worked our way east.
To me, I see the eventual liberation of the Iraqis (because any people ruled over by a massive occupying military force are not free, even when it\’s OUR massive occupying military force) as a happy accident, a good and just side-effect of the War.