And there is another belief... that everyone wants to be USian (calling only people from the US 'Americans' is part of the narrative - America extends from Baffin Island to the North to Tierra del Fuego to the South). Many USians are baffled when some people - like Canadians, or Norwegians, or Danes - don't want to live in the US.
You're absolutely right about that, Tono! Frankly, outside of young Asians who wanted to study in the US (pre-2025) or who wanted to make a new life in this country for economic opportunity, I've never met anyone outside the US is all my travels who said they had a burning desire to live in the US. Of course, if people are under extreme political or economic duress in their home country, I can see that. But I certainly have never met a European or Brit who felt they just had to move to the US. And now, of course, the States has the worst PR of any country in the world except Russia and N Korea. Dismal state of affairs (heavy sight).
Yes! That is one of the epiphanies I had while researching the piece: just how enduring the institutions are, how there really is an historic "backbone" to exceptionalism and who qualifies and who does not. It truly amazed me the extent to which race actually played into the definition and construction of Exceptionalism -- I was genuinely shocked.
I hope you enjoy the next piece (chapter 1) in the series, where I go more deeply into how American Exceptionalism has been so agile in its adaptations and redefinitions of "who is worthy".
Thanks for your comment and sharing your experience!
And there is another belief... that everyone wants to be USian (calling only people from the US 'Americans' is part of the narrative - America extends from Baffin Island to the North to Tierra del Fuego to the South). Many USians are baffled when some people - like Canadians, or Norwegians, or Danes - don't want to live in the US.
You're absolutely right about that, Tono! Frankly, outside of young Asians who wanted to study in the US (pre-2025) or who wanted to make a new life in this country for economic opportunity, I've never met anyone outside the US is all my travels who said they had a burning desire to live in the US. Of course, if people are under extreme political or economic duress in their home country, I can see that. But I certainly have never met a European or Brit who felt they just had to move to the US. And now, of course, the States has the worst PR of any country in the world except Russia and N Korea. Dismal state of affairs (heavy sight).
Thanks for your response and support!
Yes! That is one of the epiphanies I had while researching the piece: just how enduring the institutions are, how there really is an historic "backbone" to exceptionalism and who qualifies and who does not. It truly amazed me the extent to which race actually played into the definition and construction of Exceptionalism -- I was genuinely shocked.
I hope you enjoy the next piece (chapter 1) in the series, where I go more deeply into how American Exceptionalism has been so agile in its adaptations and redefinitions of "who is worthy".
Thanks for your comment and sharing your experience!