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Every nation in the world has their own opinion of America. Whether nations love
America or hate it, there are none that can claim that America is not exceptional in nature in
everything it does. While most would think that American exceptionalism means that America is
good at everything and can do no wrong, that is not what is intended by the term according to
Charles Murray who claims that “American exceptionalism is not meant to imply that America is
excellent or superior, but that it is different from all other nations”(Murray, 2013). With this
definition of the term, it can be seen that America is indeed exceptional and set apart from all
other nations. America is a land of opportunity with purpose and as American citizens, “[w]e are
a nation with a mission beyond ourselves and beyond our borders”(Metaxas, 2017). America,
unlike many other nations in the world, values its citizens rights above all else and its unique
government is, “of the people, by the people, [and] for the people”(Lincoln, 1911).
I have lived in America my entire life, however, I have lived through much of this
country and through many of its different economic/social classes. I began life in a stable, middle
class, Christian home until divorce left me with a single mother eating SpaghettiOs every night. I
moved through ten different schools and nine different states before the age of twelve as an only
child. I moved and began to live with my single father in an upper-middleclass lifestyle, eating
steaks and lobster for dinner instead of Ramen noodles and went from bottom of my class to a
five sport athlete with straight A’s being sent to an amazing Christian university. Through all of
this I have seen the poor, high-brow, smart, dumb, etc. parts of this nation and I can assure
anyone that America is truly exceptional in all of its different ways. I watched as a single mother
struggled to provide for her son on a single paycheck and I’ve watched the opportunities that can
be provided to those who put in the effort. Through our aid and programs I have seen how
America has tried to spread its freedoms and opportunities to other nations unlike any other
country. From my experiences of American life, the definition that Charles Murray provides
about America’s exceptionalism is a perfect description of the uniqueness that America has to
offer the world.
References
Lincoln, A., & A. D. S. (1911). GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. The Journal of Education, 73(19
(1829)), 514-514. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42821762
Metaxas, E. (2017). If you can keep it: the forgotten promise of American liberty. New York:
Penguin Books, 21
Murray, C. A. (2013). “Introduction.” In American exceptionalism: an experiment in history.
Washington, D.C.: AEI Press.
Erin Answer:
American exceptionalism is not the idea that America is better, but that it is different. Early on,
American Exceptionalism was recognized as a fact by much of the world, but it wasn’t seen as
the US being superior (Murray, 2013). Part of this comes from the Founders’ belief in natural,
God-given rights, and that the people, not the government, should hold the power (Gingrich &
Moore, 2018). Because the people created a very limited government, they had a very high
degree of freedom. However, they didn’t abuse this freedom; instead, they were very hard
workers who were courageous and willing to take risks and fail in order to succeed in the long
run (Gingrich & Moore, 2018). This drive and determination in the people lead to a different
quality in the nation as a whole. For many years, American Exceptionalism meant that much of
the world looked to the US as the leader. In more recent years, with the rise non-Western
countries like Russia and China, it is still recognized, but many argue that it is not to the degree
that it once was (Tomes, 2014).
Erin,
American exceptionalism certainly sets America apart from any other nation especially because
of the freedoms that it guarantees to its citizens. I need to disagree with the point you made when
you cited Tomes in his argument that with the rise of non-western powers America is recognized
as a world leader, but not as much as it once was. On this point it would seem that while other
nations have adopted some American practices such as certain freedoms and governmental
structures that now make them more similar to American practices and exceptionalism, it does
not mean that Americas leadership standing on the world stage has diminished. Political
scientists such as Michael Beckley argue the world is in an, “era of the U.S. as sole superpower,
and the country’s domination of the global order should continue for decades, at least” (McNeil,
2019). America’s domination of the global world order will continue because of its leadership on
the world stage and unique American exceptionalism that sets it apart from all other nations.
Americas exceptionalism and leadership stems from its unique policies of aid and protection of
freedoms that were fought so hard to get in the first place and like you said; the drive and
determination of the American people create the quality of the nation that leads the world.
References
McNeil, T. (2019, November 21). Why the United States Is the Only Superpower. Retrieved
October 30, 2020, from https://now.tufts.edu/articles/why-united-states-only-superpower
I agree with Murray and Gingrich’s assessments of American Exceptionalism. I grew up in the
Midwest on a farm, and I think that the work ethic of farmers that I know is very similar to what
Gingrich speaks of at the founding of the country. Retirement is not even a consideration for
many farmers—they are working to be productive and self-sufficient, not so that they can get
some reward or rest. I think this emphasis on productive and honest work is part of what makes
America exceptional. When the people hold the power and recognize God as omnipotent, they
don’t have to worry about satisfying the requirements of another party. In my experience in rural
America, Americans aren’t looking for a handout but for the freedom to do the work to get what
they want. It has been my experience that Americans favor the risk of independency over the
safety net of dependency on a government. Because of this, I think that the definition of
American Exceptionalism is relevant, at least in my experience, because the structure of our
government allows us to take our own risks, but to also fully reap the rewards of those risks. It is
easy to rely and be dependent on a government, but it is difficult to choose to walk away from
that and risk failure to truly succeed.
James Answer:
Charles Murray breaks down the idea of American Exceptionalism into a few different
parts. First, Murray explains how the idea of American Exceptionalism is not an
American idea; it was, and still is, an idea that is shared throughout the world, in
both positive and negative lights. Second, Murray explains that American
Exceptionalism does not imply that America is great, or better than any other nation,
instead, it simply means that America is different – it was born out of an idea that
had been tested and had failed more than once in the past. Next, Murray points out
that American Exceptionalism is a fact of history, not an opinion that one can hold –
the fact that America is different is evident from its very founding; one’s opinion of
America does not change the fact of American Exceptionalism. Finally, Murray says
that American Exceptionalism is based off of observations from the first century of
America’s existence, and that those observed qualities still exist today is not
something that can be debated (Murray, 2013).
Hey James,
I understand that it is Murray’s message that you are conveying, however, the point made about
American exceptionalism being an undisputable fact rather than the opinion of scholars is spot
on. There is no way to deny that America is staunchly different from any other nation, modern or
ancient, because of key attributes and emphasizes that America exemplifies. It is true that other
nations may have adopted certain aspects of America that would make them more similar such as
an emphasis on the protection of personal freedoms or keeping a limited government, but just
because other nations might have adopted parts of what makes America exceptional does not
mean that American exceptionalism and uniqueness is lessened. As said so many years ago in the
Gettysburg Address to unify the country once more, America is a nation, “of the people, by the
people, [and] for the people”(Lincoln, 1911). Its uniqueness and exceptionalism may be
emulated by other nations, but America is the beacon of that message. The observed qualities that
were produced by Americas Founders are still found today and are conveniently written out in
the United States Constitution which, besides amendments added since its creation, has not
changed in over two hundred years as the framework for the American governmental system and
basis for American exceptionalism.
References
Lincoln, A., & A. D. S. (1911). GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. The Journal of Education, 73(19
(1829)), 514-514. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42821762
Newt Gingrich describes the idea of American Exceptionalism in a similar way to
Charles Murray. Gingrich describes American Exceptionalism as the idea that America
is exceptional because it is different. While Gingrich holds the opinion that America
is a great nation, and, in addition an exceptional one, his definition of American
Exceptionalism explained throughout his interview with J. Moore (2018) touches on
the same points that Charles Murray’s definition touches on in his book.
My experience living in America has been, for lack of a better word, neutral. There
are things about the American system, specifically the political system, that I like and
things that I do not like, as I’m sure is the case for every American. Even with this
neutral stance, I feel that the definitions of American Exceptionalism presented by
Gingrich and Murray are relevant to my experience. Throughout my life, and
especially throughout my studies, the fact that America is exceptional has been fairly
obvious. America is truly unlike any other country I have taken time to study, and this
is true throughout history and into the modern era. The “American Experiment” has
never been completely replicated, and only God knows if it ever will be.
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