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The Battle for American Exceptionalism

Douglas Pratt
@DouglasPratt
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American exceptionalism is what our enemies must destroy. Lenin and Stalin knew they couldn't defeat the US military, so they devised plans to make us defeat ourselves. They had three targets: media, entertainment and education. The message was that America was nothing special, not worth fighting for. Political correctness was one of the first weapons deployed. Thanks to these plans, we have raised generations and elected presidents who do not believe that America is a force for good. Stephen Green linked to the following comments about this on his Instapundit page:

I learned about this in 2011, in one of the first books I narrated, written by a CIA guy who saw the files after the Soviet Union fell. Willing Accomplices names names, including the Polish agent sent to the US to coordinate the project, and the people co-opted into it. The goal was to instill reflexive loathing for America.

It worked. The subtle message is always there: America is to blame. America hogs the world's resources. People who love America are stupid or are doing it for their personal interests. The media can't report anything positive about America without some obligatory reference to slavery (which we fought a war to end), colonialism (which we ended), or capitalism (which has produced the highest standard of living in history).

Also from Instapundit, from Glenn Reynolds' intro to a link: "The goal of leftist media is to give people a false picture of the world through repetition and dramatization."

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Discussion (16)

  • EODmom@EODmom

    Being exceptional is not a sin. But greed and envy are sins that compound one another. I think that’s what you’re describing. Envy of someone’s exceptional skill or goods or anything else has been horribly destructive throughout history.

    Being exceptional - through genes or efforts - is not a sin.

  • Douglas Pratt@DouglasPratt
    ReplyingtoEODmom

    EODmom (View Comment):

    Being exceptional is not a sin. But greed and envy are sins that compound one another. I think that’s what you’re describing. Envy of someone’s exceptional skill or goods or anything else has been horribly destructive throughout history.

    Being exceptional – through genes or efforts – is not a sin.

    That's an excellent point that I should have included in my screed. We can be proud without being arrogant. There is a huge difference between the two.

  • Full Size Tabby@FullSizeTabby

    The understanding I have always carried is that "American exceptionalism" is not inherently a claim that Americans are "better" than others. The "exceptionalism" is that America is fundamentally different from all other countries. Not necessarily "better," but "different."

    "American exceptionalism" is that America (the United States of America) is different from all other nations ("exceptional") in that being "American" is not exclusively a function of tribe or family of birth. America is "exceptional" because anyone can become "American" if they subscribe to or adopt the ideas upon which the USA was founded. Regardless of your station of birth. That was and still is unique.

    Those who denigrate "American exceptionalism" are ignorant idiots who want to trap people into tribal chauvinism and conflict.

  • E. Kent Golding@EKentGolding
    Much of American politics for the last 20 years (edit: or more ) can be explained as successful Chinese and Russian cognitive warfare. It is to their benefit for our voting public and politicians to be be idiots who violently hate each other. You Can't Hate_fill in blank_ Enough!
  • Zafar@Zafar
    ReplyingtoFull Size Tabby

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    The understanding I have always carried is that “American exceptionalism” is not inherently a claim that Americans are “better” than others. The “exceptionalism” is that America is fundamentally different from all other countries. Not necessarily “better,” but “different.”

    Do you think this “different but not automatically better or worse” is widely held by Americans?

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    “American exceptionalism” is that America (the United States of America) is different from all other nations (“exceptional”) in that being “American” is not exclusively a function of tribe or family of birth. America is “exceptional” because anyone can become “American” if they subscribe to or adopt the ideas upon which the USA was founded. Regardless of your station of birth. That was and still is unique.

    Those who denigrate “American exceptionalism” are ignorant idiots who want to trap people into tribal chauvinism and conflict.

    Nothing wrong with claiming to be different.

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