Pros And Cons Of American Exceptionalism

America is the land of the free and home of the brave. A truly unique country free of the constraints that other nations of the world face. America is special. America is exceptional… at least, that is what its population thinks. Americans, for the most part, love America. They buy into the idea of American exceptionalism, believing that America is different from the rest of the world and that the opportunities available in America are not available anywhere else, however, in all of this exceptionalism, the truth is lost. According to research from the Center for Poverty Research at the University of California Davis published on December 12th, 2017, more than forty-three million people live in poverty. Of that forty-three million, around eighteen million live in “deep poverty,” meaning their household income is less than fifty-percent of the federal poverty line. For these Americans, their primary issue is not the exceptionalism of America, or how different it is from the rest of the world, but rather where their next meal is coming from. In fact, in this case, America’s exceptionalism may be bad for them. …show more content…
While America’s social safety net is filled with holes and constant efforts to create more, other countries take efforts to protect their impoverished, whether it be through socialized healthcare or more robust welfare programs. What lawmakers and more conservative Americans claim in response to this, however, is that because America has more opportunities than those others countries, being impoverished in America is a choice and that people who remain that way are choosing to do so. That could not be further from the truth. Poverty in America is not a choice, but rather a result of circumstances beyond a person’s