America, the "eh, nothing special"

[elfdream]

We became a super power before we were ready. I mean really..at the end of WWII we were still a toddler among the nations of the earth with more power and money than we knew what to do with. No wonder we became such an arrogant bunch of....what we became. We are taught superiority at a young age. We learn that we are not one of the 'ordinary' nations. Not us. We're....special.

Except we aren't. We are just bigger and louder. We have the same corruption and political problems that the rest of the world has...except ours are a little wackier. We also have nice people and ugly ones that even we don't want to be around.

But on the other hand the world should be glad that we were the ones left standing. We are for the most part generous and I would hope that our technology and scientific findings have helped the world. We just shouldn't be so full of ourselves as to think we can't learn a few things from our friends because they have a great deal to offer.

[leaving]

Darrell, I worded my post poorly, and as someone studying professional writing, I ought to know better! I did not mean to insinuate that every American has lied about it being bigger and better, I meant more along the lines of tirali's post where a lot of American tourists would come to Australia and all they would do was brag about how much better America is. What else bothers me is how church services involve so much "patriotism". Church should be about worshiping God, not the USA.

[Zadig]

(06-25-2012 07:14 AM)myotch Wrote:  FWIW...

...I think this current and recent trend of American unexceptionalism is a political response to a time and place where seeming unpatriotic meant certain political death. The trend is a manufactured trend.

It comes from a lot of places...Globalization is part of it, I guess. A response to the perceived arrogance of past Presidential administrations and their foreign policies is another...Again, I'm guessing.

I started noticing it a couple of months ago. Some way the news was covering Obama,where he actually embraced American Exceptionalism. But there was something in the story that seemed calculated. This hasn't been an Obama theme, nor a Democrat theme (I remember one of Clinton's advisors declaring himself a "world citizen".)

Recently in some threads, American exceptionalism has been decried. I thought it was just progressives being progressives. Then one progressive said something in praise of America (bean, regarding education), and he was slammed pretty hard and he immediately apologized. I thought that was weird, but didn't say anything.

Now with an HBO show about a newsroom, and both the (I assume) main character and the actor who plays him are bashing American exceptionalism. So, whammo - I now see the trend. Probably late to the game.

Now, I'm American, I rather like my country and my citizenship. I served her in the military - I know, nothing special about that in and of itself. I like American liberty, I like American capitalism. Warts and all. So this trend kind of disturbs me....eh, more like irritates me, like a mosquito bite, or walking into a spiderweb.

So, I'm genuinely curious. What's supposed to be the protocol, now?

Do we cheer on America's athletes at the Olympics? Do we wave a flag on the 4th of July and watch the fireworks? Is a red-white-n-blue shirt passé?

'Cuz I'm still doing it. I just want to be prepared for the dirty looks.

One of the reasons conservatives have such difficulty is due to the dichotomous thinking illustrated here. You seem to think we either have to agree that America is the greatest nation on earth, excels at all things, has no faults, or we think it sucks. A thinking person can acknowledge America's faults and praise it for its strengths without any trouble. Issues are rarely black and white, rarely absolute.

[greg]

Among the first things that Obama did when he became president was go on a world-wide "apology" tour!

Travelled much of the world in the military 81-87, I'd rather live in Detroit than most of these countries.

Folks if you haven't travelled outside the U.S. much......we got it goooood!

[Zadig]

(06-25-2012 10:41 AM)greg Wrote:  Among the first things that Obama did when he became president was go on a world-wide "apology" tour!

Which was greatly needed after the Bush bluster years. What a disaster.

[greg]

(06-25-2012 10:44 AM)Zadig Wrote:  

(06-25-2012 10:41 AM)greg Wrote:  Among the first things that Obama did when he became president was go on a world-wide "apology" tour!

Which was greatly needed after the Bush bluster years. What a disaster.

Yea, we are really so much better off now!

[Zadig]

(06-25-2012 11:10 AM)greg Wrote:  Yea, we are really so much better off now!

No doubt about it. You finally got something right.

[Tonx]

...And THEN there's Canada. Really, we only get patriotic during the Canada Day long weekend (this weekend, whoop-whoop), and I'm pretty sure it's all booze-filled. Same with the 2010 winter games. That was pretty cool, I gotta admit. But other than that, we're just kinda like, "Yeah, Canada's pretty cool. But, y'know, no big deal."

[Tonx]

(06-25-2012 08:30 AM)Darrell Wrote:  

Quote:One of the things that bugs me the most is how nearly everyone despises the use of American military might, but whenever something horrific is going on in the world, people at the same time turn to America and say, "Why don't you DO SOMETHING about [whatever evil thing is being perpetrated and needs to be stopped]?" There simply is no way for America to win, imo. If they don't do something, they're hated. If they do get involved, they're hated. There seems simply no way for America to make everybody happy.

This is sadly accurate.

LOL, this is so true! I remember in high school, we had this UN debate, and it was about the Beijing Olympics, and somehow EVERYBODY turned on the States. It was so funny, because all the countries were passing notes and making alliances, and NOBODY let America in on it. And China was over in it's little corner being like, "Aw, yisss..."

FYI, I was the UK.

[Lady Julian]

(06-25-2012 10:41 AM)greg Wrote:  Folks if you haven't travelled outside the U.S. much......we got it goooood!

Not really replying to Greg, just the idea here. My home is in the States now, but I've traveled widely in other countries (especially Europe, but I've also been to China). It drives me nuts when people say America is one of the best places to live.

No, it's not really. Most of the major European cities are more comfortable, affordable and diverse than American ones. Think public transportation, wide range of nationalities, usually good churches, sports events and more and better cultural events. Also, it's easy to travel from country to country, and locals have an easier time moving countries. America is fine, but other places are pretty fine too.