Transcription
Let's play a game. Try to think of a big budget, Hollywood-made alien invasion movie that does NOT follow most of this pattern: we see the invasion predominantly from an American perspective with only fleeting glances at the rest of the world, the US military is the primary opposition to the aliens, and the US saves the world.
District 9 takes place in South Africa, but it's not an alien “invasion” movie. The aliens have been there for years, and exist alongside humans as de-valued immigrants. Attack the Block and The World's End were made in England, and they're not big budget pictures. War of the Worlds is more from the perspective of Tom Cruise's character than the US military, but said military does play prominently in the film. We also stay firmly within the US borders throughout the duration of the narrative and barely notice other nations.
Arrival is the greatest outlier because even though it is from the perspective of Americans and the US military, the fact that this is a global effort is central to the plot. Moreover, the scientists are trying to understand the aliens and not wage war on them. The aliens have come in peace.
Generally speaking, alien invasion movies made by Hollywood follow the Independence Day model and have long before Independence Day was even a movie. Independence Day simply built upon much earlier flying saucer invasions – aliens knocking over landmarks and tourist traps in Washington DC and such. Independence Day is told primarily from the perspectives of the commander in chief of the US military as well as US military forces [welcome to Earth], the wife of the commander in chief and the eventual wife of a military pilot, a Vietnam veteran, US military super secret scientists in Area 51, and one civilian who still participates in a US military operation that saves the world. Indeed, before the US came up with a plan, the rest of the world was a complete afterthought to the narrative. The entire world outside of US borders were apparently standing around with their thumbs up their a**es, waiting for the US to come save them. [It's the Americans...] It's not simply a case of American audiences wanting to see America unilaterally taking on the alien invaders – it's a case of American audiences expecting to see America unilaterally taking on the alien invaders. It's an unquestioned narrative – an assumption of American exceptionalism.
[PART I: American Exceptionalism]
American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is not only different from the rest of the world but uniquely positioned to lead the world. Exceptionalism states that the US follows of path of history different from the laws and norms that govern other countries. American exceptionalism is the belief that the US is not only bigger and more powerful than other nations but that it due to its uniqueness, it need not follow said laws and norms.
When the US violates the borders of another nation and strikes it with a drone, this is unquestioned among Americans due to American exceptionalism. We are “allowed” to do this. If the same nation struck ours with a drone, they are not “allowed” to do this. Who do they think they are? AMERICA? That's terrorism when they do it. The US allows itself to do this because it sees itself as the standard bearer of liberty, freedom, democracy, “western civilization.” In the 1980's, President Ronald Reagan called the US a “shining city upon a hill.” The concept of exceptionalism became more and more linked to global US military and political hegemony. No matter of how much income inequality and other issues make “exceptionalism” seem hollow, the US can rely on their military to enforce this idea that the US can do as it pleases – by force.
American exceptionalism should not be confused with “patriotism,” as patriotism is understood, by definition, to be internal to the people of a nation. Patriotism is the belief or feeling among citizens of a nation that said citizens should support and praise their country. American exceptionalism is the belief that the world should support and praise America and that the world owes a debt to America and that the world should aspire to be more like America. Every nation has patriots, the people who root for the home team. But Patriotism is internal to a nation. American exceptionalism is both internal and contains an expectation that it should be external.
President Obama once said maybe other nations might believe they are “exceptional” too, so what's the harm in America's rhetoric about this? No, that's patriotism, not exceptionalism. Patriotism is a feeling whereas exceptionalism is both theory and praxis. The US practices its exceptionalism through its military on the world stage whereas most other nations don't or can't. There is a difference between saying “I love my nation” and saying “My nation has been chosen – perhaps divinely – to lead the world by any means necessary.”
US politicians try not to use the words “supremacy” or “superiority” when referring to where they believe the nation is on the global stage because such words have historical negative connotations. Up until recently, US politicians also avoided the word “nationalism,” but the Overton window has moved yet again. So, politicians use the word “exceptionalism,” as it provides a small amount of cover and deniability. Politicians are careful not to say Americans are superior to other people, only exceptional, even though the word suggests Americans are apart from others. Professing a belief in American exceptionalism is a requirement for all prominent politicians these days. Republicans say it. [clip] Democrats say it. [clip] Virtually everyone says it.
President Donald Trump claimed to not like the term “exceptionalism” but did not denounce its meaning. He doubled down on its meaning, preferring the terms “American First” and “Make America Great Again.” instead. They have the same connotations as American exceptionalism, perhaps even worse connotations. Trump couldn't say America was great now because he wanted his cultists to believe that only he could make it great AGAIN. Nonetheless, he was still tapping into the same nationalism, only using more inflammatory rhetoric. Regardless of wording, it is absolutely necessary for politicians in the US to agree with the concept, lest they be denounced. A controversy will swell, their patriotism will be called into question, and they will be labeled “traitor” by Fox News. Those in politics doubtlessly question this behind closed doors but not in public.
President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski once said: “[American exceptionalism] is a reaction to the inability of people to understand global complexity or important issues like American energy dependency. Therefore, they search for simplistic sources of comfort and clarity. And the people that they are now selecting to be, so to speak, the spokespersons of their anxieties are, in most cases, stunningly ignorant.”
When people profess that some group of people is superior, the first question to be asked should always be: is this belief in superiority common to people outside this group? Is this a widely held belief, or is this a belief that the group is inherently “better” held predominantly within the group? White supremacists believe that white people are inherently “better” than many other racial identities, but it is obviously not a widely held belief among black people, among South Asian people, et cetera. It is a cultural belief, a colloquial value that is unquestioned only within the group. Similarly, American exceptionalism is not fact or a universal value, but believers in American exceptionalism practice it as if it were.
When America invades another nation and American politicians claim that they will be greeted as liberators, this is an example of two aspects of American exceptionalism. The invasion itself and the belief in how the invasion will be received. The former, the invasion, is a byproduct of the idea that Americans have both the right and duty to invade other nations. The latter, the idea America will be greeted as a liberator, comes from the mistaken belief that American exceptionalism is a universal value instead of what it is: a cultural value almost exclusively among only one group. Americans.
[PART II: Today We Celebrate Our Independence Day]
During the lead-up to Independence Day's final battle, President Whitmore delivers a rousing speech to the US military, telling them that from now on, July 4th will no longer be only an American holiday but a world holiday. Americans view this as egalitarian and noble. Non-Americans might view this as condescending. Independence Day is a fictionalized account of US military hegemony as altruistic rather than what it is: self-serving. The US has its troops all over the world for economic concerns, not “spreading democracy.” Real life US politicians frame their exceptionalism and subsequent military presence much like the fictional President Whitmore – as a responsibility to the world, but it's not a burden – it's a feature, a positive. US military and political hegemony benefits the US over other nations. I made a separate video essay about that recently, you can follow the link here. Consider this a companion piece.
Independence Day is how Americans want to see their alleged exceptionalism: a net positive for the world, justified by power and ultimately unique. That brings us to a question: what makes the US so “unique” that it sees itself as being apart from the rest of the world, its laws and its norms? Sticking to the military for a moment longer, one might say that the US has the largest standing army in the world...but it actually doesn't. China has the largest army. Oh, OK. So, second largest, right? No, that's India. Maybe...third largest? Yes. And yet, in spite of this, American exceptionalism persists. Americans don't believe that China and India have the same “right” to break international law and commit war crimes, though. That's only for America.
The US military, however, is the most highly-funded armed force in the world. The government, regardless of which party is in power, spends more on its military than any other nation on Earth. In fact, it's not even close. China has the largest standing army, but they don't spend even half as much as the US does on its military. Saudi Arabia, India and France are distant third, fourth and fifth in military spending worldwide. So, what percentage of the US budget is spent on the military? A quarter? A third? Actually, significantly more. Most. MOST of the budget for the entire federal government is spent on what we euphemistically call “defense.” Let's put a pin in that. Hang on. We'll come back to it.
Besides the fact that the US spends more on its military than any other nation, how is it unique? What justifies its notion of exceptionalism? The Social Progress Index measures how much nations provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens. Fifty-four indicators in the areas of basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity to progress show the relative performance of nations. According to last year's ranking, the US is 24th in providing shelter, 25th in quality of electrical supply, 30th in nutrition and basic medical care, 37th in overall health and wellness, 39th in access to drinking water, 40th in child mortality, 44th in environmental quality, 47th in political rights, 50th in personal safety, 50th in access to basic knowledge. 61st in secondary school enrollment, 63rd in primary school enrollment, 67th in preventing discrimination and violence against minorities and on and on and on.
So. With all of this in mind, what makes the United States of America...exceptional? Only military spending. US justification for its military hegemony is a mobius strip. The US justifies its military operations all over the world...because it has military operations all over the world. It justifies its actions...by its actions. It justifies its existence by its existence. It justifies its wars by its ability to make war. “We're great,” they say, “and that's why we're allowed spread our military all over the world.” And when questioned we're they're great, they say “Because our military is big enough to spread all over the world.” It's circular reasoning.
Even if the US were #1 in most of the categories mentioned before, it wouldn't justify all the wars because those are unrelated, but even if having good domestic policies could somehow be justification for a devastating foreign policy, it's a non-starter of a justification because the US demonstrable does not have a superior or exceptional domestic policy to begin with. We actually see a bit of that in Independence Day. President Whitmore's domestic policies are under scrutiny and criticism. A political pundit says the people elected a warrior but got a “wimp.” Whitmore's war record is what got him elected, and his military prowess and declaration that the US will save the world is what pumps people up about him. The US as the #1 military force alone justifies his presidency. It's what finally makes him popular.
[PART III: EARTH AS AMERICA]
How did American exceptionalism become mostly about the military? According to Godfrey Hodgson book The Myth of American Exceptionalism: “Many exceptionalists today, starting with the forty-third president of the United States, base their case on religion. It was the deity, according to them, who singled out the United States for his purposes. Yet the Founders … were hardly conspicuous for their religious belief; deism, among them, was as common as orthodoxy. In recent decades, capitalism has taken its place on the podium as an aspect of American exceptionalism almost equal with democracy. For many, however, throughout the Progressive and New Deal years, capitalism rated very low in their reasons for thinking the United States exceptional. … Empirically the United States has become one of the least equal, indeed probably the very most unequal, of the world’s developed democratic nations in terms of the distribution of both income and wealth. Where once America was exceptional in its contempt for militarism and its suspicion of standing armies …. now the supposedly invincible prowess of American arms is a vital part of the exceptionalist litany.”
In short, the concept of American exceptionalism has existed for a long time, but the justification for this exceptionalism has changed. The criteria – the evidence – for why the US should be seen as exceptional changes depending on what the US is presently “good” at doing. American exceptionalism creates a feedback loop for the populace. The US is labeled the best and most important nation on Earth, and when the populace asks for the nation to treat its people better, those who buy into American exceptionalism dismiss this. They ask “How could the US possibly treat us better if we're in the greatest and most important nation on Earth?” Criticism becomes “treasonous” unless mixed with a dose of exceptionalism that guarantees said criticism won't be taken seriously.
American exceptionalism creates a toxic atmosphere among the populace. Exceptionalism is the pledge we take every day by living in America, it flows through air like background radiation. According to Gallup polling, at the beginning of this decade, 80 percent of Americans polled said that the US is the "greatest country" in the world. Of the 20 wealthy democracies polled, US citizens were the most proud of their nationality and most supportive of attacking other countries. It's a cultural belief that is unquestioned regardless of how many actual questions it raises. It is the “It is known” of the Dothraki, an accepted truth that is not true. It is so unquestioned and feels so natural to Americans and in American media, that Independence Day can be directed by a German and still have it tap into American exceptionalism because directors and studios know what Americans want and more importantly what Americans believe about America.
Americans see their nation and particularly their military as the police of the world, but this allows the military to do what it wants, bomb who it wants, take what it wants. And all of this is justified not by the end results, which are often disastrous, but by the “might is right” belief that is the modern form of exceptionalism. The concept of American exceptionalism tricks the population into thinking that the US exerting itself in other nations is generally “good” and is spreading “democracy.” But democracy can't mean military occupation. Democracy can't mean an entire world's political decisions are made in the White House. The US defeating the aliens in Independence Day is the fantasy of exceptionalists – the idea that only the US can protect the Earth, and because of that, a certain amount of leeway and a few war crimes can be handwaved away. When aliens come, they come for America. When aliens come for Earth and the audience is primarily American, the aliens tap into American xenophobia. When aliens come for Earth, Americans see Earth as America.
In conclusion, American exceptionalism is actually American “exemptionalism” – it exempts the United States from seeing itself as part of world and instead apart from it or above it. And that kind of attitude – that kind of philosophy – is historically very dangerous.