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| Russia's President Putin |
It’s a jump ball as to who is
the bigger egomaniac … Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin. But my money is on Putin. He is so self-absorbed that he now feels that
he can criticize Americans for believing that we are “exceptional.” In an op-ed piece in the New York Times,
Putin lays out Russia’s case for restraint in dealing with Syria … some of it somewhat
rational, if self-serving … see: NY Times Op-Ed. He clearly has read the polls in the United States and believes that he is half-way
home in convincing us that we should not unleash our military might to punish Syria
for its alleged chemical attacks.
Perhaps he is right … but then
he finishes with a flourish: He disses
Americans for believing that we are exceptional … viz:
And
I would rather disagree with a case [Obama] made on American exceptionalism,
stating that the United States’
policy is “what makes America
different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to
encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.
Putin’s view, I believe, is also held throughout much of liberal western Europe. And it is a view that I think President Obama
also secretly covets despite the above words he read from his Teleprompter two
nights ago.
The question then poses
itself – is America
exceptional and, if so, what does this mean? I don’t believe that this
assertion is braggadocios … I believe that it reflects a certain humble uniqueness for
our country ... in that we were founded by men who understood that governments are
dangerous and gravitate toward the stifling of freedoms. Instead of believing that our leaders are
chosen by God and then lend to their citizens certain freedoms and largess,
they constructed a Constitution that reversed this mandate. It is we, the people, who are endowed by a higher power with certain fundamental freedoms and then lend to our leaders certain powers
to govern … only to the point that they don’t abuse this prerogative … in which case they can be removed.
I can understand why Putin
and liberal Europe (and much of the rest of
the world) can’t grasp this concept … for they are clearly distancing
themselves from this form of exceptionalism.
Europe overall is run by self-appointed
bureaucrats who answer not to its people.
Russia
has subverted its own Constitution and its election process to the point of
ludicrousness. It is only through a
modicum of embarrassed self-control on the part of such leaders that actual
dictatorships have not returned in force.
But the table is clearly tilted in that direction.
Which brings us back to the United States.
Yes, I believe we have been exceptional.
We have, over the life of our country, often taken up the mantel of saving the
world from itself … losing countless lives and untold treasure in the process. Have we benefited in the process? Probably … but only a pittance relative to
what we have sacrificed. The real
question is: Will we continue to be exceptional? Have we lost our way and, consequently, given up some freedoms in our
attempt to remedy the social ills that invariably creep into societies? To a degree, yes.
But I believe that the tenets of our Constitution are still a beacon to
the majority of Americans … and most of our current backsliding will, therefore,
self-correct in time. After all, we are an exception to the rule.
