There was some discussion of this in the healthcare thread. One poster stated that it would be to find a country more free than the U.S., a few others sought ot quantify "freedom", etc. I din't think much of it, but I saw this post on SA that made me give it another thought:

Quote Originally Posted by GunnerJ
American Exceptionalism is one of the least examined yet most powerful forces in an American's worldview. We are taught from childhood that the US is the greatest nation on Earth, that we alone cherish liberty, that we have the best standard of living. It is so pervasive and insidious, from political speeches to nationalistic anthems in popular music, that it can be impossible to notice without some external standard for contrast, but for most people it manifests as an unexplained consternation at any suggestion that something America (as a national gestalt) does is inferior or wrong.

Imagine for a second that you run across someone stating without irony, "Well, of course, Darwinists have put a stranglehold on free scientific discussion." Capture the feeling of baffled annoyance at how fundamentally wrong and ignorant that statement is. That's how an American feels when someone says, for example, "Well, of course, America's military enforces an imperial ambition." Even American leftists and liberals are normally only willing to admit that America's actions and policies are flawed in execution, but have good intentions. Witness how so much of the pro-UHC critique of healthcare in the US has an undercurrent of "We're being shamed by those other countries, how can we let America fall behind anyone?"

I have a feeling that when LF posters say "death to america"...if they're Americans, it's not so much because they really strongly oppose their country's policies and feel badly for/angry about the wrongs America has done (though they might), it's more because their country is not living up to the grandiose expectations they have been conditioned to believe are its rightful and natural condition. (Or maybe I'm just projecting.)



I, for one, am inclined to agree. This is plainly manifest in many of my friends, and even I was brought up to beleive that American freedom was absolutely uparalelled. I would contest, however, that Holland, Switzerland, and (especially) any Scandinavian country are more or less equatable with us in terms of personal freedom.

Also, as a side note, American exceptionalism is a large factor in the healthcare debate, too. So while I'm trying to keep this narrow in focus, it is difficult for me to do so without making at least some mention to that debate.

But I've rambled enough. What do you all think?