David Sirota: Rethinking American Exceptionalism

[marmar]

Rethinking American Exceptionalism
America is certainly exceptional, but that isn’t necessarily something to be proud of.

BY David Sirota


“American exceptionalism” is perhaps the most misunderstood phrase in politics. If, like the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, we define “exceptionalism” as “the condition of being different from the norm” - then it's certainly true that America is exceptional. But we rarely stop to ask: Should we always want to be exceptional?

The assumption in our culture is yes - but it's not always so clear-cut when you consider the key ways we are exceptional in comparison to other industrialized countries.

America, for instance, has an exceptional economy. GDP-wise, it is the largest in the world, making it the planet's most powerful engine of technological innovation and wealth creation. At the same time, the economy is exceptional for creating the industrialized world's most financially unequal society; producing one of the industrialized world's highest rates of childhood poverty; and mandating the industrialized world's least amount of off time (paid sick days, maternity leave, etc.).

In terms of health care, we have an exceptional system that stands out for spending more than any other nation's. According to the Cato Institute's Michael Tanner, that gets us a system that “is at the top of the charts when it comes to surviving cancer (and) drives much of the innovation and research on health care worldwide.” ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/15121/rethinking_american_exceptionalism/

[pipoman]

1. "American Exceptionalism" is a slur used by

people who have little knowledge or refuse to acknowledge that the same exact description could be applied to every 1st world country on the planet..people pretending that the US are colonialists whilst holding up European nations as a model for good global brotherhood..'the cup is half empty' crowd..

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt