10 Reasons Why America Truly Is Exceptional
7. America is exceptional in its benevolent superpower status
America bashing is very popular among various political groups the world over. It’s a safe way of showing your progressivism, anti-globalism, and anti-imperialism. What all of these groups fail to realize, however, is that America has been a kinder, gentler superpower than traditional empires have been. What does the doctrine of American exceptionalism empower the United States to do? Nothing more than to act better than traditional empires which were committed to looting and conquest. That’s American exceptionalism, an exceptionalism based on noble ideas; ideas that it holds itself to even when it falls short of them.
America was the first country to voluntarily give up its overseas colonies, places like Cuba and the Philippines. When the US military occupied countries like Japan and West Germany after World War Two, the purpose was not to punish them for attacking the US or starting the war, neither was it to install a puppet authoritarian regime, like the Soviets did in their occupied zone. Rather it was to transform them into democratic, peaceful and prosperous countries, independent of the US control and interference in their domestic and foreign policies. In the same way, right after the end of the Cold War, America did not try to finish off its fallen enemy, Russia, instead pouring billions in foreign aid and investment, and propping up the unstable transitional government there.
America has made many mistakes in its dealings with the outside world, but most of those mistakes came from inexperience and wishful thinking rather than evil intentions.
