Orlando Manfredi
American Foreign Policy
Blog Post
Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism
The core philosophy of Obama has no room for American Exceptionalism as it has been traditionally defined. American Exceptionalism as most would define it is the unique trait the United States has that makes it more important and better than all other nations. This exceptionalism gives the United States primacy in the international stage and in trade. The exceptionalism is also key to domestic policy and defines the culture of patriotism and love of American cultural values.
Obama on the other hand has a more egalitarian view on the hierarchy of nations. To him the United States is simply another nation which happens to be a superpower only through a series of events rather than a near divine mandate as is American Exceptionalism. This view is most exemplified through his speech in an April 2009 press conference where he said, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I’m enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world.” “Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we’ve got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we’re not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us.” Obama believes in a strange form of American Exceptionalism that doesn't highlight how great America is but how much room America has to grow and improve and this also puts the US on the level of other developed nation “Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we’ve got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we’re not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us in rank and ability to operate on the global stage.”
Obama was different from every other president in the sense that he did not believe in traditional American Exceptionalism and yet the War On Terror took his attention away from domestic issues and forced him to engage with a great deal of military force across the world. In a sense there is a disconnect between his words and his actions. His foreign policy was a mix of treaties and compromise but also with unflinching military force that would make a neoconservative think is excessive. Obama’s exceptionalism is an inward one that doesn't show how America is better than other countries but (despite his propensity to bomb many of them) but one that highlights progress and that progress is what makes America great but not greater than other countries.
Orlando,
ReplyDeleteI thought you made an interesting argument on this topic and how his American Exceptionalism is very non-traditional. I liked your point on how Obama seems to think "progress is what makes America great but not greater than other countries", and the article seemed to imply that. His form of American Exceptionalism is quite different from the typical idea and, after reading the article, I thought your argument made a lot of sense as a response to the question posed in class.