{"id":1316,"date":"2010-11-18T13:38:22","date_gmt":"2010-11-18T18:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dcdistrictdiva.com\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2010-11-18T13:38:22","modified_gmt":"2010-11-18T18:38:22","slug":"why-does-america-hate-american-exceptionalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/why-does-america-hate-american-exceptionalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does America Hate "American Exceptionalism"?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite tea party criticisms of President Barack Obama is that he hates<\/a> “American Exceptionalism.” Yes, the Columbia\/Harvard Law graduate, self-made millionaire, and leader of the entire free world simply cannot stand <\/em>to be the best.\u00a0 This is certainly reflected in his choice of an equally ivy-league-educated wife,\u00a0 administration, and Supreme Court nominees.<\/p>\n

Oh, right. When we start focusing on facts<\/em> instead of fantasy, then the only obvious conclusion we can come to is my other<\/em> favorite Obama criticism: He is “elitist<\/em>, arrogant<\/em>, and out of touch with the everyday person<\/em>.”\u00a0 *Pay no attention to the blaring contradiction* Blessed (cursed?) with the kind of amnesia one can only have after repeatedly banging one’s head against a wa\"\"<\/a>ll for eight long years, some critics have even found themselves longing<\/em> for the days when W. was The Decider<\/em>.\u00a0 Now there’s<\/em> a guy we can have a beer with! (Ignore the fact that he’s a recovering alcoholic, making beer-drinking probably not the best idea.)<\/p>\n

And all that “American Exceptionalism” talk just goes right out of the window<\/em>. Because let’s just be honest with ourselves: we have no desire<\/em> to be exceptional.\u00a0 We do not value<\/em> the exceptional.\u00a0 Instead, we really, really, like it<\/em> when people are rewarded for basically doing nothing at all, displaying no talent whatsoever, and putting in — what should be seen as — offensively minimal effort.\u00a0 (I’m talking to you, Paris Hilton! — and your progeny.)<\/p>\n

Take, for example, Bristol Palin, spawn of one Sarah Palin (you may have heard of her).\u00a0 Never dancing a day in her life, and being no where near a “star,” Bristol the Pistol still somehow managed to sashay her way onto ABC’s Dancing with the Stars<\/em>, and is right on track to win the dancing competition, irrespective of the fact that she is indisputably, a God-awful dancer.\u00a0 She’s already bested R&B singer Brandy, who has been perfecting the craft of performing since she was a child and received nearly perfect scores from the judges in the competition.\u00a0 Granted, there is evidence that a loop-hole in ABC’s email voting has allowed rampant tea party fraud to carry Palin all the way through to the end.\u00a0 But DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba has a different view of why Bristol just might win this competition<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“<\/span>A lot of people come up to me and say, ‘I want to be on Dancing with the Stars<\/em>. Why don’t they have a regular-people version?’ And I feel like that’s what Bristol Palin is. She’s a regular girl with normal problems and normal issues, and I think a lot of people look at her and see themselves<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Other people look at her and see a hot mess.\u00a0 In fact, a 66-year-old Wisconsin man was so infuriated<\/a> with Bristol Palin’s most recent performance — or mere presence, one cannot be sure — that he unloaded his shotgun into his own television set. While I wouldn’t recommend it, I certainly sympathize with his frustration.\u00a0 Why don’t<\/em> we care about talent? When did anti-intellectualism become en vogue? What is it about this revamped “American Dream” where we feel we really can be “anything we want to be” without trying very hard? Without any sort of assessment as to what our true gifts are or what our intended purpose is? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The answer seems quite simple:\u00a0 If we value wisdom, knowledge, exceptionalism<\/em>, and actual unyielding pursuit of our God-given passions and talents, then we might actually have to be<\/em> wise, obtain<\/em> knowledge, be <\/em>exceptional, and unyieldingly pursue<\/em> our God-given passions and talents.\u00a0 We’d have to be accountable.\u00a0 And that is a lot of pressure and responsibility.\u00a0 And it is scary. I mean, what if we fail<\/em>? And even worse: what if we succeed<\/em>? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As Marianne Williamson says:<\/p>\n

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
\nOur deepest fear
\nis that we are powerful beyond measure.
\nIt is our light, not our darkness,
\nthat most frightens us.
\nWe ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
\ntalented and fabulous?
\nActually who are we not to be?
\nYou are a child of God.
\nYour playing small doesn’t serve the world.
\nThere is nothing enlightened about shrinking
\nso that other people
\nwon’t feel insecure around you.
\nWe are all meant to shine as children do.
\nWe were born to make manifest
\nthe glory of God that is within us.
\nIt’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
\nAnd when we let our own light shine,
\nwe unconsciously give other people
\npermission to do the same.
\nAs we are liberated from our own fear,
\nour presence automatically liberates others.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve never been foolish enough to believe we live in a merit-based society, one where those who work the hardest and “deserve” commendation and notoriety actually receive<\/em> it — not when cronyism, nepotism, racism, and sexism are on the loose.\u00a0 But wouldn’t it be nice if we could come to the collective understanding that “American Exceptionalism” doesn’t come from some<\/em> Americans making up the undisputed strongest military in the world, or some <\/em>Americans’ ingenious inventions, or some<\/em> Americans mastering life-changing medical procedures, or some <\/em>Americans making nothing into something.\u00a0 “American Exceptionalism” should be less of an opportunity to pass the buck onto someone else<\/em> to be exceptional, all while claiming bragging rights for ourselves as Americans, and wrapping ourselves snugly within the American flag.\u00a0 “American Exceptionalism” should invoke within us a sense of duty, a self- and group-expectation, that each of us become exceptional, thus normalizing the outstanding. (If non-dancing, non-star Bristol Palin can win Dancing with the Stars<\/em>, then this seeming contradiction should also be able to stand!)<\/p>\n

And not just because we want notoriety, commendation, success, riches, glory.\u00a0 But simply because God is exceptional. He has equipped us all to do the exceptional, with His help, so that other people would see how awesome God is through the work He has helped us to do, and will desire to know Him better. As I’ve quoted many times on this blog, Pastor J.R. Vassar<\/a> explains that when we:<\/p>\n

get liberated from your incessant need to be loved and honored, you can actually live with this new consuming desire to see God loved, to see God honored. So the ruling desire of your heart is to see the Father loved and exalted, like Jesus lived to see the Father loved and exalted.<\/span><\/p>\n

What kind of country — what kind of world<\/em> — would we live in if everyone made it their singular goal to declare war on mediocrity and live an exceptional life, simply to please God and stir a desire in others to be close to Him? It is unimaginable. But in a day when far crazier and less beneficial things have happened, it is certainly not impossible.<\/p>\n

Follow DCDistrictDiva on Twitter<\/a>.\u00a0 Become a fan of \u201cThe Dithering of a District Diva\u201d on Facebook<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


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