American Exceptionalism

The United States is known for many things, whether that be a mix of cultures, strong nationalism, or a fight for freedom and justice. All these characteristics were made clear in Bush’s speech in 2001 addressing the horrific tragedy that occurred at the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11. Although it is said the goal of al-Qaeda was to break down our nation, the incident on 9/11 instead was viewed as an opportunity to bring together not only our country, but surrounding nations and allies. The common view in our nation was made clear by George W. Bush, when he stated, “The advance of human freedom… now depends on us… We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail”. However, one begins to wonder, at what price? What key characteristics that make the United States the country that it is was Bush and the rest of our nation willing to give up in order to get “justice” for this “crime against humanity”?

Questions like these are addressed continuously by Noam Chomsky in his post, Looking Back at 9/11 a Decade Later. However, a claim he makes very prominently is an incident that occurred a decade after Bush made his speech: the killing of Osama bin Laden. Not even necessarily criticizing the killing of bin Laden, but instead the way in which he was killed and treated, Chomsky discusses how, “the operation was a planned assassination, multiply violating elementary norms of international law, beginning with the invasion itself”. One could argue, as Chomsky does, that the killing of bin Laden was done in such an inhumane way that it defied everything that we, as the United States, claim our nation stands for. This concept is known as “American exceptionalism”, in which, when faced with a political crime as large scale as terrorism, the United States begins to pick and choose which “inalienable rights” they would like to follow through with.

However, it is important to recognize that Bush does address the certain situation as an exception to what the U.S typically has to deal with, as the circumstances of the time themselves were anything but normal. Bush states in his speech, “Americans have known surprise attacks—but never before on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day—and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack”. Considering this event as such an unexpected attack, and such a devastating one at that, it’s fair to expect things in our nation to change. Such a change was proven to be a goal, or possibly a last resort, for the U.S when Bush states, “Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen… Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists… We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans”. Therefore, despite Chomsky’s fair points, one could argue that this was somewhat of a warning to the world that, for the time being, our government was no longer focused on the rights of mankind, but instead the protection of the United States and its citizens.

Nevertheless, no matter how much warning Bush gave, that doesn’t justify the behavior of the U.S before 9/11. Chomsky addresses America’s fault in which we get ourselves involved in the business of other countries, with the benefit of humanity in mind, but almost always end up harming the country in which we invade, such as during the Vietnam War or the “First 9/11” nearly 30 year beforehand. However, despite the killing of thousands, if not millions, of innocent civilians by the American weapons and the American soldiers, we do not take a stand against such horrendous terrorism until it is our country that is under attack. It is believed that, as stated by Chomsky, “Those whose mission is to rule the world enjoy a more comforting picture”, meaning that countries who have large scale plans for the future tend to only acknowledge what they feel will lead their country to achieve those plans. An action such as this, though the intentions may be good, can lead to great hostility between countries and detrimental results.

With all of these points considered, I personally agree with Chomsky in saying that our nation was guilty of what he refers to as “American exceptionalism” during the time period of 9/11 and decades to follow. However, it’s also important to consider that, in his speech, Bush’s intentions were to not only persuade our nation, but also begin to warn the world that our priorities as a nation could no longer be steered towards the well-being and justice of even our worst enemies, as 9/11 was the wake-up call we needed to see that our nation was no longer “immune from attack”. Therefore, if the topic in question is whether or not 9/11 could have been avoided, then I would say it is fair to believe that such a tragedy was inevitable for our country. I in no means have the intentions of implying that our country "deserved it", but I do believe that after all the attacks we made on other countries, it was ignorant to expect that we would forever be "immune from attack".