August 30, 2008

America is no exception

Tallbear:  'Exceptionalism' narrative doesn't jiveObama talks often about the "greatness" and "goodness" of the U.S. He pledges to restore the American dream, and he claims that "in no other country on Earth is [his] story even possible." As if other nations don't have histories of colonialism, immigration and racial diversity. As if social and economic mobility is uniquely American.

Sustaining the ideology of "the American dream" requires the down-playing of social and political change in other countries, and the elevation of economic prosperity--however gotten--above other types of prosperity.

American exceptionalism requires that the truths and experiences of the very constituents Obama seeks to enfranchise--the politically and economically disempowered--be painted as non-fundamental to the history, character and prosperity of the U.S. Their contradictory experiences get downplayed or silenced in favor of the grand narrative, and progress gets interpreted not as humane social action and hard political work but as the inevitable outcome of inherent U.S. American righteousness.

This is simply inaccurate. Certainly there are nations that don't do as well as the U.S. on multiple counts. On the other hand, other nations have already elected women presidents or indigenous presidents. Other nations ended slavery before the U.S., or never engaged in it at all. Other nations already offer national health care, empower labor, regulate lending institutions, and protect the environment.

No other nation in the world imprisons the proportion or the sheer number of human beings that we do. A disproportionate number are black, Hispanic and American Indian. No other nation has detonated a nuclear weapon in war killing tens of thousands of civilians.

The tired story of American exceptionalism does not jive with our knowledge of world affairs and how foundational dispossession, exploitation and violence have been to the rise of U.S. power and prosperity. Such aspects of U.S. history are not the exceptions that betray the true democratic soul of the U.S. As much as the feel-good events, these are integral to the American story and how we developed as a powerful nation.

6 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
OMG, someone has enough of a pair to point out that America prefers to forget and to forego their own history. Wow, if this thesis gets any kind of play, how long does that person have to live?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Re "someone has enough of a pair to point out that America prefers to forget and to forego their own history": Yep, I sure do. I've pointed that out hundreds of times myself as well as posting hundreds of articles pointing it out. No need to thank me; I'm just doing my job.

P.S. The word you're struggling to spell is "forgo," not "forego." And the pronoun for the singular noun America is "its," not "their." America prefers to forget and forgo its own history.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Rob, you are proving yourself non-fluent in your own language. 'Forego' is the preferred spelling of the word, as is that of related words such as 'foregather,' 'foregone,' and 'foregoing.' Now, the words 'fordo, 'fordone,' and 'fordoing' do not have the 'e' but they are of another set of meanings and etiological derivations...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

I'm always glad to educate less-experienced writers on words they don't know. As well as pronouns (e.g., "its") they don't know how to use correctly.

Here's what you'd find if you actually cracked open a dictionary, Russ:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/forego

fore·go /fɔrˈgoʊ, foʊr-/

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -went, -gone, -go·ing.

to go before; precede.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/forgo

for·go /fɔrˈgoʊ/
–verb (used with object), -went, -gone, -go·ing.

1. to abstain or refrain from; do without.
2. to give up, renounce, or resign.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
And now we have you by the short ones, Rob! Your listing only shows that spellings lacking the 'e' DO exist, but they are SECONDARY to the spellings with the 'e'. writerfella uses first-class words in his writings but you seem only to want second-class choices in yours. Thus are writerfella's posts concise and cogent whereas yours sprawl all over the map...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

My posting shows that "forego" is an entirely different word from "forgo," dumbass. "Forgo" means to do without and "forego" means to go before. Unless you meant that America prefers to "go before" its own history, you made a stupid mistake.

Sheesh. Even when the dictionary definitions are in front of your face, you can't understand them. How pathetic can you get?