American Exceptionalism can probably be traced to the US Constitution as emblematic of Enlightenment thinking. We should be grateful that God looked favorably on the Founders and inspired them to such greatness. Oops - that may not fit in with contemporary secular progressivism. So be it.
It should be noted, however, that American Exceptionalism began to gain traction in the post-WII era when American industry began to colonize the developing world and began the first great wave of "globalization." It was only in the last 65 years that the mythology of American Exceptionalism took on the overtones that it has achieved today, as exemplified by Charlie Gibson practically sneering at Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign, when he asked her to explain the Bush Doctrine.
Palin stumbled over the question and her answer was taken as an indication that she did not know what the Bush Doctrine is. She was not given any credit by the intellectual elites for actually responding with the appropriate question, "which part of the Bush Doctrine?" As most people recognize, the Bush Doctrine from the first term was quite different from the Bush Doctrine of the second term.
Palin subsequently evoked, on the campaign trail, the American ideal of the "shining city on the hill" that echoed John Winthrop's Puritan sermon from the 1600s and Ronald Reagan, who popularized the vision of America as the "city on the hill," reminiscent of St. Augustine and the Roman Catholic Church as the spiritual "City of God."
The concept of American Exceptionalism goes back to the very genesis of the United States as most favored in the eyes of God, blessed with abundant natural resources and governed by men (and women) and guided by Enlightenment ideals. It is only in the last 65 years, since the end of WWII, that we, as a nation, have assumed the mantle of protector of liberty and equality around the world. Thus, it is only a recent manifestation of our destiny as a nation that we believe that we are exceptional on a global scale. Call it Pax Americana. That is until the election of Barack Obama, who is projecting a post-modern view that "America" is not the first among equals, but merely one of many - e pluribus unum. And there you have it.
As a follow up to yesterday's blog, to move upwind in a region of prevailing westerly winds, one could move to Mendocino County and engage in hydroponic farming of a high value crop. There, in the Coastal Mountains, or even the Trinity Alps, one could be fairly safe from fallout from Seattle or Portland, or from San Francisco. Plus, the area is ecologically safe from Global Warming caused by human flatulence and halitosis.
