Conservatives seem to revel in the idea of American Exceptionalism. Within the last year John Boehner and Kathleen Parker have criticized the President for not using the term, even though in fact he has (April 4, 2009). President Obama frequently invokes the concept of exceptionalism, even when the phrase is not uttered.
On the right, the phrase has become a litmus test of patriotism, as if mere words were enough to prove one’s love for country. But, as in all things, actions are the real proof of one’s beliefs, and it is in actions that the conservative movement in this country shows their belief in American Unexceptionalism.
I live in Alabama’s 5th congressional district. Mo Brooks can’t exhale without uttering the need for budget cuts. We can’t afford universal health care (and according to Mo, requiring the purchase of private insurance is a government takeover of health care). We can’t afford to help the poor- the social safety net is a luxury in a time of slow economic growth. He, along with the other Republicans in the house, have voted to cut funding for nutrition programs for pregnant women, food programs for children, job training environmental regulation enforcement, food safety inspection, updated weather satellite systems, aid for police departments, and foreign aid (except for Israel and Pakistan). Should the Ryan budget plan pass, the magnitude of the proposed cuts would dramatically increase.
By votes and rhetoric, Republicans believe that Unions hurt business and competitiveness, protecting the environment cannot be accomplished without destroying jobs and that drilling for more oil domestically will significantly reduce our energy prices. And of course, they reject the science that shows us that global climate change is being accelerated by human activities.
Meanwhile, countries as diverse as Germany and Taiwan prove that universal health care is a realistic idea that society can afford. China is sprinting to be a world leader in the alternative energy industry and much of Western Europe is proving its commitment to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel with investment and action. Germany requires Union representatives on corporate boards, and requires employers to provide generous benefits. It invests in worker training and strongly protects its environment, yet its economy is the strong man of Europe and unemployment there is much lower than in the US. Yes, Germany has its own economic problems, but it has not had to abandon its social safety net even under our current world economic duress.
So what does it say about our belief in ourselves that other countries can do what our conservative leaders say we cannot afford to do? Do conservatives believe that Americans are lazier than Germans? Are the Taiwanese smarter or richer or more moral than us to be able to afford universal heath care when we are told we cannot? Are the Chinese more farsighted, investing in the energy technologies of the future while we wrestle with crumbling infrastructure?
By word, conservatives proclaim the greatness of the USA. They proclaim our superiority in most, if not all things. Yet in their words and actions, they betray those statements of American Exceptionalism. They tell us what we can’t do, can’t afford – even while other countries pursue and achieve what we are told is unattainable. They have chosen shortcuts and callousness as the direction we must take to compete in the world. When we accept second best, when we accept that our future is only a diminished version of what we were, that we must turn away from a commitment to each other as a society to pursue our own selfish goals, that we cannot attain what others countries can, that our children must accept less and live in a world of fewer rights and more pollution, then we will truly be the unexceptional people, the unexceptional nation, that they are telling us we must be.
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