World Cup highlights U.S. exceptionalism

It is no secret that America is not entirely on board with the World Cup.
 
Most everyone would agree that many years ago, when that crazy bus full of checkered-ball-toting, shrieking, maniacal, soccer-loving fanatics drove by and opened up the door, screaming, “Get in!” America replied, “We’ll pass.”
 
That bus drove on.
 
In the years since, the proliferation of soccer mania and its accompanying celebrity players, big money sponsorships and ubiquitous global viewership reminds us that in this way we are very different from the rest of the world. We are, in fact, exceptional.
 
Yet “exceptional’ is a loaded word, particularly these days among the U.S. media.  It summons the traditional idea of “American exceptionalism,” a long-debated notion that America is different than anywhere on earth, perhaps even divinely so.
 
Its roots can be traced back to the famously sermonized “city upon a hill,” alluded to by the original Massachusetts Bay colonists. It is not entirely flawed. If you examine history, we indeed came from a quite distinct group of people: a small band of liberal, individualistic dissidents in a nation (England) already more liberal and individualistic than the rest of Europe at the time.
 
As a result, many of our core values are deeply rooted in notions of freedom and personal sovereignty, more so than many other nation’s.
 
Yet the constant putting upon a pedestal of this concept of “exceptionalism” creates several problems.
 
First, it ignores the fact that in most other ways, we are actually just like the rest of the world.
 
Yes, we have a unique set of cultural values. But no, they are not so radical as to be incomprehensible to anyone else on earth.
 
Every nation on the planet has a distinct culture. The fact that we do too actually makes us more like the rest of them than anything else.
 
Believing our differences preclude us from any similarities is not only ignorant, it is dangerous. Furthermore, it sets us up for the second problem with American exceptionalism: It creates an “us versus them” mentality.
 
Although some Americans are apparently proud of an approach that polarizes us against everyone else, I find it off-putting and adolescent. When we insist we are different in every way, it hinders us from interacting with others in a productive manner.
 
Europe, for example, seems to be a region we are particularly unwilling to acknowledge anything in common with.
 
Since the World Cup mayhem began earlier this month, commentators have talked about soccer’s popularity in Europe, calling it a “Socialist” and “Marxist” sport. Glenn Beck likened it to Obama’s policies, noting it is another thing the rest of the world loves that “we hate.”
 
As he went on, his rant echoed the enthusiastic Europe-bashing typical to this line of rhetoric.
 
Yet it is confusing to me why stating anything positive about Europe, or any other country for that matter, connotes something negative about the U.S.
 
It’s a classic flaw in logic that even Glenn Beck should be smarter than: “A” does not always lead to “B.”
 
Liking a European policy does not mean disliking a U.S. policy.
 
I happen to think, for instance, the Europeans have a great transit system. That doesn’t make me un-proud or un-American. I don’t want to live in Europe or “be Europe” and I don’t certainly want to move to Switzerland or start a Communist revolution.
 
I just happen to like bikes and think we ought to be re-examining public transportation. How does that make me unpatriotic?
 
In the U.S., I’ve found there is this underlying notion that anyone who beat us to a good idea got it wrong. If we didn’t invent it, it’s wrong. We can’t be copycats, we must set the examples. We are the shiny beacon on the hill.
 
Don’t you think this is a little juvenile? True, there are millions of criticisms to be made of European policies and lifestyle, as with Central and South America, Asia or any other region on earth. Nobody gets it all right all of the time. But why can’t we look around and takes ideas from others?
 
I love my country but get embarrassed when I feel like we’re sitting around the playground saying, “My way or the highway.” “We won’t play your game.”
 
None of this is meant to come off as anti-American. On the contrary, with every new country I visit I am reminded of how much I love about my own.
 
That said, I’m not interested in being an isolated nation, holed up on an island or perched atop a “glimmering hill,” demanding the world look to us for every answer. I want to be a citizen of the world— proud of my country but eager also to be part of the global community.
 
Soccer, in many ways, has become symbolic of this willingness, or lack thereof, to include ourselves on the world stage.
 
As that is the case, I’m determined to be up early this week to get down to the pub where, elbow to elbow with the cheering group of Danes, Swedes, Argentines, Brazilians, Uruguayans, German and other soccer-loving fools, I’ll be yelling, “goal!”

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cswope28 from portland
6/28/2010 10:26:08 PM

Once again Rachel Cavanaugh has written an excellent editorial, this time in her comments on the World Cup. As she so rightly points out, those who fail to recognize the similarities America has with other nations and cultures (be that sports or many other issues) can indeed be dangerous. Such myopic thinking can, and often does, lead to a narrow, tunnel-vision view of the world. As for Glenn Beck and his rant against soccer and his comment that soccer is something the rest of the world loves and "we hate"...... Glenn have ya looked at the sport being played in so many, many parks/fields across this country on any fall/spring weekend??? Have you heard of the term "soccer mom"? Or, Glenn, do you hate them, too, as you seem to hate anyone who is different, or holds a different viewpoint from yours? It is only when we can recognize our similarities (while still acknowledging our differences) that our world has any chance of peace.




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