Exceptional Nation

If there’s one core belief that has guided and inspired me every step of the way, it is this. The United States is an exceptional nation.

-        Hillary Clinton, from her recent speech at the American Legion’s national convention in Cincinnati.

A lie, falsehood, or misrepresentation to be found in every sentence.

And it’s not just that we have the greatest military or that our economy is larger than any on Earth.

Well, I will give her that one.  It is true that the US has the largest economy, when measured by GDP.  That’s about it….

The United States certainly has the largest military spending of any country on earth; I don’t know if that translates automatically to “the greatest military,” especially considering that there hasn’t been a major war in which the US came out on the winning side since 1945.  So, I would label this a lie.

It is a lie that these are not the only reasons one might consider the US an “exceptional nation.”  If not for global fear of the US military and financial repression via the international standing of the dollar, who would listen to this supposedly “exceptional nation”?  (Hint: not Japan, not Germany and much of Europe.)

It’s also the strength of our values, the strength of the American people.

Explain the strength of those “exceptional” values to the millions of dead, injured and homeless throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

And part of what makes America an exceptional nation, is that we are also an indispensable nation.  In fact, we are the indispensable nation. People all over the world look to us and follow our lead.

They follow for fear of invasion or financial repression.

My friends, we are so lucky to be Americans. It is an extraordinary blessing.

“We” are lucky only because we have a very large ocean on each side of the continent protecting us from most attack – well, except for those either orchestrated by the US government or prompted in retaliation for actions taken by the US government.

It’s why so many people, from so many places, want to be Americans too.

In addition to the relative economic opportunities and relative freedoms offered in the US as compared to most places on earth, a big reason is that – unlike virtually every other square inch on earth – so far US territory has been relatively safe from the US military machine.  (Well, except for places like Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge…and depending on your views of 911 and Boston.)

The decisions we make and the actions we take, even the actions we don’t take, affect millions even billions of lives.

Well, this is true also – that makes two.  Unfortunately, the actions affect billions virtually always to their detriment (see Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Egypt, Palestine, and Yemen).

Our power comes with a responsibility to lead, humbly, thoughtfully, and with a fierce commitment to our values.

Like “humbly” and “thoughtfully” cackling at the sodomizing and murder of Kaddafi.  She is at least right about the “fierce commitment to [her] values” part.

Because, when America fails to lead, we leave a vacuum that either causes chaos or other countries or networks rush in to fill the void.

When America leads, they create a vacuum that “causes chaos” and allows other “networks” to “rush in to fill the void.”  (See Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Egypt, Palestine, and Yemen).

The United States built the international coalition against ISIS.

I think she added a few words by mistake; should read “The United States built the international coalition against ISIS.”

You don’t build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon.

“Loose cannon” – that’s a good one.  Hilarious Hillary!

At our best the United States is the global force for freedom, justice and human dignity.

At “his” best, one could say the same for Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and even Satan.  One could also say that “best” was never witnessed in any of these characters.  When was the last time “at our best” was witnessed in the behavior in any of the leaders of the United States government?

We stand up to regimes that abuse human rights.

Saudi Arabia?  Israel?  Turkey? 

We stand up for religious and ethnic minorities….

Christians in the Middle East? 

Maybe the soldiers of other nations wouldn’t have bothered, or maybe they’d have taken revenge on those family members [of bin Laden, in his supposed complex] of terrorists, but that is not who we are.

Wedding parties?

We’ll make a renewed push to reduce the world’s nuclear weapons.

Like announcing another trillion dollar program to further modernize and weaponized America’s nuclear arsenal?

Conclusion

Sadly, this stuff sells to a large swath of Americans.

There is nothing exceptional about citizens standing and saluting their government and their military – no matter how tyrannical.  There is nothing exceptional about praising soldiers who fight in foreign fields.  There is nothing exceptional about spreading values at the end of a loaded gun.

America is not an exceptional nation.  As far as empires and tyrannies go, it offers pretty standard fare.