Left, Right, Center: American Exceptionalism

Born in 1983 with the Cold War nearing its end and all that meant for American patriotism, I heard countless variations of the phrase, “America is the greatest country in the world.” We were a “shining city on a hill,” “the most loved, hated, respected, and feared country in the world,” and “America is the most powerful country the world has ever known.”

As a child, it was impossible to avoid becoming consumed with this sort of nationalism. It made me stand a little straighter during the national anthem, pledge my allegiance a little louder, and question the injustices of my country with much more forgiveness.

Then reality hits so hard it would make a Florida politician blush and then ban a bunch of books. I discovered things about America that could not be ignored. Slavery, genocide, denying women the right to vote, Jim Crow laws, exclusionary acts, xenophobia, internment, red lining, denial of basic freedoms, Islamophobia, and an insurrection painted my country in a different light. Contrary to the beliefs of those hellbent on keeping children from learning our accurate history, learning these things did not make me love my country any less. It painted over the idealized images of my youth. Now, I view my country with complexity. It possesses layers and nuance. It is an idea that has not fully realized its highest aspirations. My country is…