American Exceptionalism

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American exceptionalism, a general idea of America being different from the rest of the world, is defined in many ways by different groups of people with various cultures, beliefs and races. But what does it really mean and how did it arise? Was it because America was chosen by God to show and guide people around the globe? The ideology that encouraged freedom, equal opportunity and limited government? Or was it the diversity that created and shaped the America today? The answer is, different outstanding traits in America combined to form what made America both exceptional and unique. Although some people disagrees with American exceptionalism because it just demonstrates the country’s patriotism and overconfidence that leads to negative impacts, …show more content…
In the BBC news article “The unlikely story behind the phrase 'American exceptionalism '” by Anthony Zurcher, he stated "No nation has liberated more people or done more to raise living standards around the world through trade and charity than the United States." This shows the ideology of America that motivated them to contribute not only to their own people, but also the ones outside the United States. If a nation is willing to raise the living standards of the people from the outside world, they will certainly do what’s necessary for its own people to have better lives. This connects to America’s form of government, democracy, which mainly focuses on the rights of the people. Explained in the article “Why is America Exceptional” by David Deming, he included that the key ideas of America were expressed “succinctly and elegantly by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. “All men are created equal” under the law...“Governments are instituted among men,” not for the purpose of obtaining arbitrary power, but for securing the natural rights of the citizenry from infringement by either individuals or factions.” This demonstrates the role of the government in the United States, it’s there to protect and fight for people’s rights instead of trying to rule and control people in the way that’ll dissatisfy people. Therefore, the ideology of liberalism, the belief that people should have both political and individual freedom, is thoroughly demonstrated in America, where we call exceptional due to its motivation to enhance people’s lives

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