The hoariest and most oft-repeated cliche in American politics may be that America is the greatest country in the world. Every politician, Democrat and Republican, seems duty bound to pander to this idea of American exceptionalism, and woe unto him who hints otherwise. This country is “the last, best hope of mankind,’’ or the “shining city on the hill,’’ or the “great social experiment.’’ As if this weren’t enough, Jimmy Carter upped the fawning ante 30 years ago by uttering arguably the most damning words in modern American politics. He called for a “government as good as the American people,’’ thus taking national greatness and investing it in each and every one of us.
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There is nothing wrong with self-satisfaction or national pride. But the incessant trumpeting of our national superiority to every other country in the world is more than just off-putting and insulting. It is infantile, like the vaunting of a schoolyard bully that his Dad is better than your Dad.
Yes, exactly. Read the rest of the piece and get your attitude in check.
The part I worry about the most is that Americans can be resistant to societal changes, because they think America already has the best societal structure, and that structure must be protected.
There is only one thing about which I think America is the best, and that is in regard to our First Amendment rights. Ironically, it seems like the people who are first in line to weaken the First Amendment are the same jingoistic “patriots” who blithely declare that we’re the best at everything.
If I do as the article suggests, then won’t the terrorists win?