In the recent days there have been some greats posts on American Excetionalism (AE) from Richard Williams, Kevin Levin and Chris Wehner. Actually, the discussion has become quite energetic and interesting. So, as I told Richard Williams after reading his post on the subject, I thought I would add my interpretation on the subject. Not only has the term been in heavy use on the net, but it has has it fair share of sunlight on the radio and tv after President Obama’s UN speech. I even heard that old blow-hard Rush Limbaugh discussing it the other day.
American Exceptionalism speaks to the unique and exceptional place that the United States occupies in the world. It has been a beacon to the rest of the world since its creation in 1776 as a place of Liberty, Opportunity, Freedom, Ingenuity, Religious Freedom, Hope, a place of Safety from all that is bad in the World. AE looks to place these things at the forefront of what America is. But in the process, it ignores what other things America is or has been in it short history. Oppressive, Genocidal, Dominating, Anti-Liberty, Anti-Freedom and Anti-Hope.
Does this mean that America should not exist, that it’s history books should be written void of the bad and ugly and only exhault the good? No, never! American history must tell the whole story…the good, the bad and the ugly. It should never be sugar-coated or given to one side or the other. In Kevin Levin’s most recent posts on AE he mentions that he, as a teacher, is not afraid to call himself an enemy of AE. I agree. He also states that it is not his job to decide for his students whether or not America is exceptional or what events make us exceptional. I, again, fully agree.
As a teacher I believe the more I teach (working on my 15th year) the more it is my job to lead the students to the information of history and not to tell them what to think about that history. They must make their own assumptions and conclusions about what they read and/or see. My job as a teacher is to provide them with the most balances set of resources that I can give them so that they can use as much of that information to create a picture of events in their head. From there they will formulate an understanding of the events and then can decide if it is something good, bad or somewhere in the middle.
In his MIT video Howard Zinn mentions the idea that it was a very important event that happened with the Puritans settled the colony in Mass. in 1630 (of which my ancestors were part of), but that setttlement signaled a disaster for the Native Americans here in what would become the United States. The near destruction of the Native Americans in this country is somewhat exceptional and should be taught, but it does not fit the AE mold. So I pose the question to the AE crowd…how does this get taught under the guise of AE?
It is very obvious the Richard Williams has not been in school for some time, nor is he an educator.
Its been many years since I went to school, but in grade school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and then sung America the Beautiful. This was meant to instill love of our flag and love of country in students. It was a moral statement–not about government, but about principles. So, most of my teachers did have an interest in what their students concluded about the moral status of this nation. It also came through clearly in their passion for our country’s greatness and our founding principles’ superiority and uniqueness.
I recall an incident in my 12th grade government class. We had a very likable older woman as a teacher. She had a law degree and, I found out later, was a member of the ACLU. One day while discussing different forms of government, Mrs. B. stated: “Actually, communism in its pure form, is the best form of government.” You could have heard a pin drop. My best friend and I, though rather liberal ourselves on certain topics at that time, engaged Mrs. B. in a rather heated debate challenging that ridiculous notion. Though anecdotal, it is clear Mrs. B. brought her ACLU background and her ideology into the classroom. That was over 30 years ago. I can only imagine some of the comments being made today in some classes.
Except for contact with the schools for his children I think it is safe to say that he in not up-to-date on current teaching strategies or theories or styles. I think it is safe to say as well, that, his continued adhearence to the Lost Cause Mythology of the south is proof of my point. I also find it interesting the someone who is a member of the increasingly radical Sons of Confederate Veterans even takes a positve stance on AE.
In the last paragraph of Mr. Williams’ post on AE, he says the following:
Certainly all the facts should be presented; the good, the bad, the ugly. But America’s triumphs over our bad and ugly should be cause enough to teach that America is an exceptional nation in the history of mankind. How can anyone possibly deny that? Our laws assume certain rights are inalienable–that they are natural rights, given by God and which cannot be taken away by any government. We were conceived as a nation of laws and not of men. That is unique in history. That should be trumpeted and, yes, celebrated as exceptional. And even though we have not always lived up to those ideals, we have continually struggled to do so. We have been blessed with prosperity, liberty, and freedom more than any nation in history. We still have more opportunity here than any other place on earth. By teaching these truths, we can at least have some hope that the generations to come will want America to continue to be exceptional and that our children and grandchildren will be able to to enjoy the same blessings that we have.
I have to agree with most of what he says here. The difference is that I do not stand in front of my classes and proclaim this as it seem Mr. Williams wishes teachers would do. On the other hand, I think that in the process of teaching American history we do teach the basic ideas found in the AE theory. But we must also teach the things that make America look poorly as well…otherwise there would not be a standard in which to measure our true greatness.
I’m sick and tired of people that should be in the Sons of Union Veterans joining and being involved in the Sons of Confederate Veterans. 