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American Exceptionalism And 9/11 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Dan Chambers
Email: dschambers77 (nospam) hotmail.com (verified) |
11 Sep 2002
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Our grief is not unique. Read why. |
American Exceptionalism and 9/11
Thousands of gallons of ink and tons of paper will go today to commemorating the loss of life that occurred last year, which is as it should be. Americans and American supporters all over the world will remember what occurred last fall with silence and solemnity. People will keep the stories of what they were doing when they heard the news close to their hearts. It is therefore with special delicacy that I write about American exceptionalism and our country's grief.
American exceptionalism is a concept that dates back to the country's founding, a belief outlined by the early pilgrims' notion that this land was to be a 'shining citie on the hill.' It would be a New Jerusalem, a beacon to all in the world. And haven't we all heard those words, ad nauseam. "America, a beacon of democracy and freedom to oppressed peoples." "America, bringer of free markets and free elections." Over and over and over we hear these statements, uttered until they sound like they must be true (never mind that ideas like freedom and democracy, human dignity and liberation do not belong to us; never mind that our markets are not fair, and neither are our elections free). The underlying principle is that our country is, well, different than other nations. It is this difference that assures us our grief must be exceptional as well.
In striking contrast to this was the way that people around the world became American last September. In their willingness to sympathize with people halfway around the world experiencing an awful reality, Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, Europeans, Russians, each became an American in their sympathy to us. The tragedy of last year's events drove home that Americans don't own a patent on grief. The unity displayed by citizens and sympathizers proved this.
This is something that has never happened on this side of the world. Americans have never been able to become Vietnamese, to show support for the terrible ravages that country endured at the hands of the, well, Americans. Americans never became Chilean to show solidarity with people experiencing an upheaval perpetrated at the hands of the, uh, Americans (on September 11, 1973, no less). Nor have we ever become Native, to show our understanding of what Native Americans had to go through. The reason is simple. Sixty-six percent of Americans regard their country's actions as "usually or almost always" beneficial to the world according to a Monitor/TIPP poll taken in the past week. On the whole, we can't imagine that our country would be responsible for bringing harm to others.
This is the essence of American exceptionalism. We are different. Other countries commit unspeakable acts of wholesale terror. Not us. No way, no how.
If only that were the case. As things stand, our government's hands have been bloodied too often trying to suppress the ideals we are told we champion. Beacon of democracy? Ask a Nicaraguan, who will tell you we pummeled her country into voting for a candidate we could stomach. Bastion of human rights? Ask a Chilean, whose father or mother was "disappeared" with the help and blessing of our State Department and CIA. Defender of free markets? Ask an Iraqi, forced to watch as their elected leader was deposed for the crime of wanting using oil wealth to the benefit of his people. The list, sadly, goes on. And on.
This is not a diatribe against America. It is a statement of understanding that our grief is not exceptionally profound, no matter how sad our news anchors look, nor how many eloquent words our politicians use to convince us otherwise. It is the same grief that any numbers of people around the world have had to experience. Many have only us to blame. Yet, when the time came to show their humanity, they were unwavering in their ability to let bygones be bygones. They knew the loss we were experiencing. They shared our sorrows. Their experiences and ours underscore how loss is a universal feeling, and therefore decidedly unexceptional.
Americans need to realize that sympathy from abroad goes only so far, however. Just because someone sympathizes with us does not mean they will give us carte blanche to exert as much control as we possibly can over their lives. Americans need to realize that when our government, acting in our name, commits atrocities abroad; it is our job to step up, and to say, "No." Where people allied themselves with us at the hands of terrorists, we must ally ourselves with others when actors of terror wear red, white, and blue ribbons. Grief is not an exceptionally American experience. Neither is solidarity. |
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A Small Correction... |
by Michael Feltes
mfeltes (nospam) ucimc.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
11 Sep 2002
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> Defender of free markets? Ask an Iraqi, forced to watch > as their elected leader was deposed for the crime of
> wanting using oil wealth to the benefit of his people.
Dan, if you're referring to what I think you are here, you mean an Iranian, whose last strong democracy was overturned in a CIA-backed coup in 1953 over the nationalization of Iran's oil fields.
An excellent essay, nevertheless. |
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Superb Commentary |
by JW
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
12 Sep 2002
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I'd like to see this in the next issue of the public i. |
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Re: American Exceptionalism And 9/11 |
by karl roenfanz ( rosey )
k_rosey48 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
05 May 2005
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vietnam- elected diem cia sponsered coup , haiti - elected aristed american sponsered coup , iraq - elected saddam usa/great british sponsered war ( for faked reasons ) |
