Sarah Palin on American Exceptionalism

Sarah Palin states, “"But even more important is that world view that I share with John McCain. That world view that says that America is a nation of exceptionalism. And we are to be that shining city on a hill, as President Reagan so beautifully said, that we are a beacon of hope and that we are unapologetic here. We are not perfect as a nation. But together, we represent a perfect ideal. And that is democracy and tolerance and freedom and equal rights."

The concept of American Exceptionalism is not new and if you are not acquainted with it, it’s okay. It is an idea that students entertain during their political science studies in college.

American Exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is different from other nations due to its history, national credo and distinctive political/religious institutions. This exceptionalism has three characteristics according to Dorothy Ross. They are supernaturalist explanations, genetic interpretations and environmental explanations.

The one I find most interesting is the one on supernaturalist explanations which claims that God has selected America as the “city on a hill” to serve as an example for the rest of the world. Although this may be something we should be proud of, it is also something we should be wary of.

How we conduct ourselves in the world community is important, as in physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The concern I have with the supernaturalist explanations approach is that if applied by certain individuals, it can have dire consequences on the United States. Sarah Palin’s religious doctrine in combination with this romanticized ideology can be a mix for disaster.

It allows for the U.S. to behave improperly without holding it accountable because God has made it permissible. In other words, the atrocities and faults committed by the American government can be forgiven because God allowed it.

This is the danger of applying this doctrine when one is not humble about the actions of our country. We may not be a perfect nation as Palin claims but I disagree with her second assertion.

It is pompous of us to claim that we represent the perfect ideal. American democracy, tolerance, freedom and equal rights are not the absolute ideal in my opinion. We are close but not there yet.

We still have issues to overcome before we can truly claim that prize of a perfect ideal. At the end of the day though, what we find ideal may not be exactly what other countries seek.

Exporting American democracy because it is the ideal is the wrong approach. We can export democracy but never shall we expect other nations to apply an American version of democracy in their homelands.

When it comes to Iraq, John McCain and the GOP state that we will leave when we are victorious. They claim victory will be achieved when the Iraqi government is stable.

Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to measure success. Saddam Hussein never really had a stable government in Iraq. The Middle East is a region that like most in the world has had to deal with its share of turmoil.

At the end of the day, even though we make prefer our version of democracy, it would be arrogant of us to claim that it is the perfect version. As that “city on a hill” we should lead by example and not subjugate the rest of the world to our standards.