The Dangerous and Destructive Mythology of American Exceptionalism

I wished I could write this in tiny letters I hope I get no one too upset
but at least we don't have the death penalty? yucky yuck yuck

a reply to: mister.old.school

Just stopping by for a read and a thank you for the well laid out, informed piece.

S&F

Peace

The term was coined as a disparaging attack by Joseph Stalin while he gloated over the Great Depression befalling on the US. (As he kicked out the American delegation of the Communist Party who was arguing the US form of Capitalism was the exception to Marxixm's Laws.) It was an ideal used long before and often to express the championing of and spread of Freedom throughout the world.

1914
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson infuses Paine’s notion of the United States as a bastion of freedom with missionary zeal, arguing that what makes America unique is its duty to spread liberty abroad. “I want you to take these great engines of force out onto the seas like adventurers enlisted for the elevation of the spirit of the human race,” Wilson tells U.S. Naval Academy graduates. “For that is the only distinction that America has.”



1929-1930
Coining a new term, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin condemns the “heresy of American exceptionalism” while expelling American communist leader Jay Lovestone and his followers from the Communist International for arguing that U.S. capitalism constitutes an exception to Marxism’s universal laws. Within a year, the Communist Party USA has adopted Stalin’s disparaging term. “The storm of the economic crisis in the United States blew down the house of cards of American exceptionalism,” the party declares, gloating about the Great Depression.

Source

Your twist that it was the US Communist Party that represents the term is far from any form of truth. They were actually scorned and reprimanded by Stalin for trying to incorporate an already existing American ideal into their brand of commie pinko rhetoric.

a reply to: infinityorder

There is nothing you can't find here.

BTW I travelled... I went to Canada once

Wow you are such a traveller. The places and different people and cultures you immersed yourself in on that scary adventurous road trip to Canada.

If you haven't stepped outside the North American continent how do you know what you will find if you step outside your cocoon. Oh the pain of reading your posts!

a reply to: MimiSia

I love that you think nazis were defeated by America I lought at u actually go have a look in your history book

Dont forget the Nazis shipped off to USA in operation paperclip..where would US technology be without them (Von Braun/Rocketry). Or the OSS precursor (to CIA?) was run by ex Germans.

a reply to: infinityorder

Or Afghanistan, that is begging america to stay longer.

hahahahaha...thats the biggest bit of rubbish you stated so far. The only reason you're still in Afghanistan is so your Politicians can control and keep the Opium flowing back into the USA, killing your sons and daughters. Yep thank your military mates for that. Do some reading, theres much to learn.

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

you know one thing I think non Americans can agree on..., is that without America the world would be boring

a reply to: infinityorder

telkugence

I had to google that word. Google returned 2 results. Keep up the good work...you got this thread a no1 ranking. Can you give me a hint from what part of America this word comes from?

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

if I agree I will be automatically labeled as Russian propaganda. but what can I say beside I hear you

a reply to: MimiSia

you know one thing I think non Americans can agree on..., is that without America the world would be boring

Or a lot healthier and wealthier. You call Nike using third world child sweatshop labour to make $200 shoes interesting?

a reply to: MimiSia

if I agree I will be automatically labeled as Russian propaganda

And yet they have allowed their nation to grow corrupt and fat and lazy due to socialism. From cradle to the grave..their Govt tells them what to do and they dont question it.

ua reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

or what goes into making one dump app ?
like I said I hear you. collective evolution I hear you. I just know evil feeds of negativity in love evil can not survive and it's mistakes surface.any other threat and I will tell you how much I hear you. but I stand by the average us citizen is not the enemy and they do not have enemies.

originally posted by: infinityorder
What country has more states in the top 10 economic powers of the world than any other continent?

Perhaps you did not read both of my opening posts? The results of that economy benefit the oligarchs that run the country, not the average person overwhelmed with their job and lack of free time.

Number 1 in space achievement.. America

Only nation to set foot on the moon, not to mention many times..america

Saved humanity from itself not once but 2 times in the early 1900s..america

Only country with the balls(or gall, however you see it) to use atomics against other men...america

Clinging to past glory is sad and pathetic. Like the once-talented high school quarterback who is now obese and penniless, but still regaling in stories of his youthful renown.

Before you go pissing all over America for it's exceptionalism don't forget it is the only country in the world where you can sneak in, steal the country's wealth by taking welfare you don't deserve, steal the country's wealth by stealing an education in our schools that you don't deserve, steal the country's wealth by stealing healthcare that you don't deserve and THEN rather than be rounded up and tossed into the ocean you are given more freedoms than the actual citizens this is exceptional no matter how people spin it.

a reply to: Sublimecraft

You can thank Nazi Germany, operation paperclip, Von Braun

The same can be said for Britain. Under the lend lease agreement Britain had to give it's secrets on Radar, The Jet Engine The Atomic Bomb as well as other technology.

en.wikipedia.org...

This thread swiftly devolved from a call to honest introspection into a few non-Americans bashing America.

"no racism" and "African slaves would also disagree" from an Australian?

How awesome is Australia's history of treating non-whites? Care to explain what "National Sorry Day" is all about?

I don't feel a need to incessantly brag about the greatness of my country anymore than I do about my own greatness but at the same time, I won't apologize for having pride in my country anymore than I would having pride in myself or anymore than I would expect Australians to apologize for having pride in their nation.

There's a certain irony in Internet forum threads where people bash America, the country whose inventors gave the world the tools to do it. The CPU? RAM? Hard Disks? The mouse & windowed OSes? The Internet? How many of you know what the "Mother of All Demos" is?

originally posted by: tmeister182
Before you go pissing all over America for it's exceptionalism don't forget it is the only country in the world where you can sneak in, steal the country's wealth by taking welfare you don't deserve, steal the country's wealth by stealing an education in our schools that you don't deserve, steal the country's wealth by stealing healthcare that you don't deserve and THEN rather than be rounded up and tossed into the ocean you are given more freedoms than the actual citizens this is exceptional no matter how people spin it.

No. That happens in the U.K. also.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
This thread swiftly devolved from a call to honest introspection into a few non-Americans bashing America.

"no racism" and "African slaves would also disagree" from an Australian?

How awesome is Australia's history of treating non-whites? Care to explain what "National Sorry Day" is all about?

I don't feel a need to incessantly brag about the greatness of my country anymore than I do about my own greatness but at the same time, I won't apologize for having pride in my country anymore than I would having pride in myself or anymore than I would expect Australians to apologize for having pride in their nation.

There's a certain irony in Internet forum threads where people bash America, the country whose inventors gave the world the tools to do it. The CPU? RAM? Hard Disks? The mouse & windowed OSes? The Internet? How many of you know what the "Mother of All Demos" is?

The internet wouldn't work if not for a Britain inventing the telephone.

The World Wide Web wouldn't work if not for a Britain inventing the protocols.

a reply to: mister.old.school

The whole premise of your thread is flawed.
The coined term was used by Stalin to gloat over the suffering in the US during the Great Depression.
He wrapped up already existing expressions of being different for the good of humanity into the coined phrase "American Exceptionalism" in order to oppose it. After all, his narrow world view was Marxism as the only way and owed all of his power to it.

It backfired on him and the Communists as the Capitalists borrowed it and turned over a profit in positive propaganda. Capitalism wins every time, deal with it.

To this day the commies are disgusted by the term, as they should be, for it symbolizes their lower pecking order as a failed system compared to Capitalism. This is why you see it pop up from time to time in obvious communist attacks. Every time one of them dusts off their Communist Manifesto they see challenging America's place as special to be one of their duties.

Meh it is old already.

a reply to: theantediluvian

I am not Aussie origin but I can certainly tell you Aussies did not wipe out indigenous aussies they still to this day give them more respect and benefits and rights regardless of how they behave or what they do. Aussies respect the land they work alongside with indigious people. they imbrace and learn from them.they developed everything from railroads to telecommunication for publics benefit nothing was privately exploited like in us and certainly they did not drag here and inslaved African citizens ...wasn't also wifi invented by Aussies . it is a comment to the perceived innocence of America's non aggressive non threatening nature. at least be honest and admit the fact that us started and still starts wars if you are so proud you take the good and bad.