The author begins with famous quote lines as a clear example of “American exceptionalism” and the idealistic descriptions of the United States, especially over the last two centuries. As the author notes how American exceptionalism is similar to other nations that claimed exceptionalism as well. He clears out there are no differences between them when it comes to their self-assertion conduct, many which resulted in a righteous attitude that leads them to think they are positive role models to the world. A believe that makes the Americans with their privileges and unique qualities to think they are superior than others, when in fact they are no less different.…
has made me look at American people through the lens of an outsider. Although I moved here when I was young, and I am currently a U.S. citizen, I still fail to understand some aspects of the logic of the American people. I have merged my Bosnian culture with bits and pieces of American culture to become who I am today, however, my culture predominantly focuses on my Bosnian heritage. In all the years that I have lived here, I have discovered that Americans believe they are supreme. You may ask, “Why do they believe this?” It is because it is what they have been told and what they have come to believe after hearing it so many times. Americans are very focused on themselves. We have the best economy, the richest people, the nicest houses, the best cars, the smartest people, and the most advanced technology, so why shouldn’t we be labeled as “the best.” If everyone acted like Americans, then perhaps the world would be a better place. However, it appears that this is not the case. Horace Miner’s article and Laura Bohannan’s story proves us all wrong. We are not the best and we are not as logical as we think we…
America is a country that is well known for its power. Some may believe that America “polices” the world. Which in my opinion I do not think that’s necessarily wrong. Whenever there is an issue around the world America is always trying to help for the most part. The US shows dominance over other countries and it’s been that way for a majority of the time.…
America, a nation built upon the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' has been referred to as the most powerful country in the world. While some people praise the U.S. for this great triumph, others resent it. And despite this obvious victory, many of America's leaders and policymakers suffer from an inferiority complex,' often feeling the need to act in ways that make the U.S. seem more superior. The actions exerted by America are reminiscent of a very outdated practice, called imperialism. This term has recently brought upon many arguments concerning the United States as an empire, particularly in the character and logic of U.S. domination that is at issue. America should not assert its economic, military, and cultural…
False American Ideals As many call the Indian Holocaust, the poor treatment of Indians in America existed the minute Europeans stepped foot on their land. In 1492, Columbus arrived in the New World only to find that it was already inhabited. Still, the Europeans murdered, enslaved, and relocated the Native Americans westward. Still, hundreds of years later in the 1800’s, this indigent treatment of Native Americans still existed.…
This paper covers white privilege as well as the systematic racism leading to the death of two people. It also connects an online article by Warren J. Blumenfeld to the book written by Rebecca Skloot. Both have a central theme of white privilege and racism, but Blumenfeld appears to believe that racism and white privilege feed off of each other while Skloot simply reports examples of past instances of racism that still have an impact today.…
Peggy McIntosh, in her paper “white privilege and male privilege”, describes how white people and males have developed the capacity to hide, not realize, or not demonstrate that they have privileges just due to their race or gender. She collects materials and prospectives from women’s studies, where it is often noticed men’s unwillingness to accept that they are over privileged, but are willing to accept that women are disadvantaged. This generates denials that protect male privilege from being recognized or ended. This gender discrimination can be seen from the racial point of view as well, and it is that whites are not willing to recognize their white privilege.…
What are some other examples we have learned about since September in which the United States expressed a feeling of “cultural superiority” and does this mentality still exist today?…
American exceptionalism is not an assertion of common Americans. Rather it is a statement of the political establishment in the U.S. Political establishment in the U.S. tries to embed and implement the conviction that the U.S. is a “city on a hill,” the “last best hope on Earth”.…
Inequality is Contaminating America Currently in the United States, many may see that there is inequality, but have yet to do something about it. In the article The Toxic Tap by Josh Sanburn, he blatantly discusses Social Stratification that exist in America, more specifically, Flint Michigan. Sanburns’ article expresses the discrimination that Flint’s people faced during the change of the water supply from Lake Huron to Flint River. The Toxic Tap is referring to the Flints local river that has been the cause for many problems.…
Still to this day, slavery and the following inequality in race have brought down the African race in America. Examples like the Freedom Train in the 1940s that made concessions to white Southerners, and even as far as today in Hurricane Katrina where government support took incredibly long to respond and aid the people of mostly poor African communities that were flooded. Another example is of the differences in home ownership. “Equity in Owner Occupied Housing is most of the wealth for most Americans” (Course Slides p. 26), and this created a discrepancy in race due to the government’s unwillingness enforcing laws to prohibit housing discrimination in the 1950s and other times. Through the Freedom Train that only seemed to represent the…
America is known to be the land of the free and home of opportunity. However, there have been several injustices that have occurred over the years that has contradicted the “American dream.” One example is racism. Even though people now have the right to come to America legally, there are still many people that insult others because of racial background.…
Everyone should be entitled to freedom of speech, choice, and enough food to survive, but have to earn everything else. Being free to say something allows people to speak their mind and help others. Many famous scientists, authors, politicians, etc., have become known around the world by what they have said, and in return, it has helped many others in their life. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. once said “a man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” This quote has changed many people’s lives by giving them something to believe in. Everyone chooses to do things, and sometimes they do it without knowing. In “The Necklace,” by Guy De Maupassant, Mr. and Mrs. Loisel make multiple choices during the story, but one choice changed their life completely. When Mr. Loisel tells his wife that she should tell her friend “you’ve broken the clasp on the necklace and are getting it mended,” he is telling Mrs. Loisel to lie to her friend. She chose to lie to her friend, even though she was wrong, because it was her choice to. Being entitled to freedom of speech and choice are both great things to be able to do, but everybody needs food to live and make those decisions. Many people die from starvation everyday, and even though food costs money, it is what people are entitled to have. There are many organizations in the world that collect donated food and give them to the poor so they can eat.…
Have you ever felt like you are living the life of someone else? Have you done something just because it worked for everyone else? Is it possible to buy happiness? Have you ever felt like everyone else know the secret to life, the thing that makes everything so much easier for them, it tells them how to think about something, what to do with their lives how to be happy? This secret is the delusional belief in the american dream. Our lives revolve around the american dream, so much so that we lose sight of the true morals and values we should live our lives based on and we build our personalities on our material possessions. People who still have agency over their personalities separate themselves through the formation of counter cultures, however there counter cultures are inevitably consumed by the mainstream society. From birth we are bombarded with the standards, we are raised to conform to the superficial life society has created for us. We are consumed by the american dream, so much so that we dedicate our lives to blindly following it, we use it as a way to distract ourselves from the corrupt and sorry state that our world is in, the sad reality is that our lives…
The Americans enforce their power over other nations, cultures, and governments because they prefer being in control. The Native Americans were drastically affected in the 1830’s because “the federal government forced them to leave their homelands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated “Indian territory” across the Mississippi River” (“Trail of Tears”). The American government overpowered the Natives for their own benefit. Although the Americans have used their power negatively in the past, this country now uses power to benefit the nation in a more positive form. This thirst for power has caused this country to be “the world’s sole superpower” (Joseph S. Nye Jr.). The United States currently controls a large portion of the economy in the world and also influences the decisions of other major countries. America is defined by power and urge to…