American Exceptionalism In The United States

It is easily conceivable that American exceptionalism has not been embraced by other countries. This is because that U.S. foreign policy and its lack of consistency based on exceptionalism, which claims American supremacy and missionary role, are effortlessly translated into “moral arrogance” (Davis and Lynn-Jones, 1987, p.31). However, the scepticism towards American exceptionalism has also become pervasive among American public, who once deeply believed in it. According to Pew Research Center, only 28% of the American public considers their country as the greatest country in the world, with a sharp decline from 38% in 2011 (Tyson, 2014). The survey shows that the trend is observed among every age groups but particularly obvious among younger
generations; among the age group from 18 to 29, merely 15% people answered the U.S. is the greatest in 2014, decreased from 27% in 2011; and 26% of the group from 30 to 49-year-old responded yes to the same question in 2014, which declined 12% since three years ago (Ibid). A Gallup poll also shows a similar trend regarding American exceptionalism; whereas 66% of American public believes that the U.S. has a responsibility to lead the world, and 80% answered that the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, 62% regarded that the U.S. is exposed to the risk to lose the U.S. special character (Jones and Saad, 2010). Although the numbers are greatly different – CNN’s political unit (2013) observes that this is because “the wording of a question greatly impacts the answer” – those results commonly means that more and more American public has become sceptical about American exceptionalism. After experiencing lingering war on terror, the public is now conscious that American exceptionalism tends to make more enemies in international affairs, which could possibly produce another security threats to the U.S. (Ignatieff, 2005). As Ceaser (2012, p.12) states, both the U.S. and the rest of the world have become to consider that “America can no longer afford to promote a mission in a robust sense”.

As a conclusion, this essay has defined American Exceptionalism as the belief in the American uniqueness, and more importantly, its superiority and mission to promote both religious and political ideas, which the U.S.
has promoted, to the rest of the world. Therefore, American exceptionalism requires U.S. foreign policy to be altruistic and righteous. Although exceptionalism is not exclusive to the U.S., American exceptionalism stands out due to its nature as national identity. American exceptionalism has inherited among American elite and mass public from the beginning of its history, and therefore has strongly affected U.S. foreign policy. Indeed, the U.S. has been exceptional because American public has believed in American exceptionalism, and expressed their opinion through various means. Because public opinion matters, accordingly, administrations have intentionally promoted American exceptionalism to gain the public support. This utilization of American exceptionalism has led a serious problem of American exceptionalism: double standards in foreign policy. Under the name of American exceptionalism, U.S. military interventions have been overly justified as a noble mission to combat the evil for the entire world. American exceptionalism conceals the true intention aiming to maximise U.S. national interests, as well as allows disrespect towards foreign cultures and traditions as inevitable process to complete the mission. In addition to military-related issues, American exceptionalism has caused unacceptable double standards, most prominently in human rights issues. It allows the U.S. to create its own standards specifically favourable to itself and allies, while claiming to promote international standards of human rights, as if those two standards are always identical. American exceptionalism has been utilized to legitimate U.S. foreign policy. As a result, American exceptionalism has attracted criticism by academics and non-academics both from inside and
outside of the country. The world, including the U.S. itself, has now been conscious of problematic aspects of American Exceptionalism. Its reputation has been sharply injured in recent years, even among American population, who has believed in it and always contributed to reflect it in U.S. foreign policy. The United States could no longer be a single, absolute state imposed the sacred, innocent, and always just mission in the world.