America the Exceptional?

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So, is the U.S. exceptional? Are we, as many believe, unique in the world and always on the side of the good? Are we the exception to all the other countries? Or, are we delusional? Are we really not much better than others? This argument has been around for a long time.

 

The ideals in the Constitution, especially in the Bill of Rights, are worth striving for. Equality before the law. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right of assembly. Protection against unreasonable search or seizure. Trial by jury. No double jeopardy. Due process of law. Protection against self-incrimination. Compensation for takings of property. The right to know the charges against one and the right to confront witnesses. All of these are the basis of a free and fair democracy.

 

These ideals were not invented on the spot. They derived from the history of abuses that preceded them. They were guarantees that the U.S. would not repeat the evils of the past, but instead offer a better future for all. In this respect, there is no doubt that we were among the few nations in the world striving for a full and free democracy. Not the only one, but the Constitution provided guarantees not easily available to others. Exceptional ideals, indeed.

 

But what has been our reality? Has it measured up to our ideals? Let’s take a look at our treatment of “others,” then at our practice of war.

 

Our Treatment of Ethnic Minorities:

 

Start with Native Americans. We have a long history of signing treaties with Native American tribes, and then violating them. American demand for Native American land overrode agreements to respect their laws and territories. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized confiscation of Native American lands and forced removal West of the Mississippi. The Dawes Act (1877), banned traditional cultural and religious practices, and established compulsory English and Christian children’s education. Consistent with the Constitution? No, but then Native Americans were not even recognized as citizens of the U.S. until 1924, and not protected by the Bill of Rights until 1968. Government policy was to appropriate land, move tribes elsewhere, and suppress native culture. Even today, true compensation for past discrimination is not available for Native Americans. We still practice benign neglect, but it is not benign at all. This was, and is, our government in action.

 

Immigrants: A common thread is the charge that immigrants are dirty, spread disease, are uneducated, and take jobs from citizens. Group after group has had to weather these charges.

 

In 1854 the Supreme Court ruled that the Chinese, like Black Americans and Native Americans, were not allowed to testify in court.

 

Even though as many as 20,000 Chinese helped build the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860’s, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred Chinese immigration for ten years, and prohibited Chinese from naturalization.

 

In 1871 Los Angeles, up to 20 Chinese were killed by a mob.

 

The Geary Act of 1892 extended the Exclusion act for ten more years, and required Chinese (and no other group) to carry a Certificate of Residence. In 1902, Chinese immigration was excluded “permanently,” until 1943.

 

In 1907, there were anti-Asian race riots on the West Coast. In 1913, the California Alien Land Law prevented Japanese from owning agricultural land (at which they had been successful). After the West Coast Japanese had been interned during World War II, many of them lost their homes and lands, instead of having them protected by the government.

 

The Irish endured discrimination for many years before entering the main stream. In 1844, the Philadelphia Bible Riot destroyed Irish homes and churches. The Irish initially were considered dirty, uneducated, and competing for jobs with Protestants.

 

The Immigration Act of 1924 increased immigration allowances for Northern European nations, and generally allowed for immigration of those with college degrees or special skills. It also banned Mexican immigration, and severely restricted immigration of Japanese and the rest of Europe. This quota system finally was eliminated in 1965.

 

In the 1920’s there were multiple anti-Filipino riots on the West Coast.

 

Early in our history, we had discrimination and riots against Catholics. As late as Kennedy’s White House run, people openly asked if he would be more loyal to Rome, or if Protestants could vote for him.

 

As for African Americans, our history from the beginning was to enslave them, prohibit their education, and to discriminate against them in every possible way. We have had countless lynchings and riots killing African Americans. And the prejudice and discrimination continues today. Our treatment of African Americans has been and remains shameful and unspeakable.

 

In each of these cases, beyond the direct threats of injury and death, common elements of discrimination include: red-lining in housing; reluctance of banks to make loans and higher interest rates when making loans; withholding of health care; exclusion from professions and top management; barriers to college entry; confiscation of property; lack of recognition in the arts; stereotyping; and so on. While the worst extremes of such discrimination have been tempered over time, the subtler forms persist. We have a long way to go before all people are treated as equals.

 

Our Prosecution of Wars and Interventions:

 

In Native America:

 

We engaged in a long series of Native American wars, including: the Northwest Indian War, expelling the British and occupying the Northwest Territorities; the First Seminole War, taking Florida from Spain; the Winnebago War, seizing lead mining land; the Mexican-American War, taking Texas, California and other lands; and individual wars against the Creek, the Seminole, the Arikara, the Winnebago, the Black Hawk, the Comanche, the Cayuse, the Apache, the Navaho, the Sioux, and the Shoshone, plus wars against multiple tribes: the Puget Sound War, the Rogue River War, the Yakima War, the Paiute War, the Yavapai Wars, the Dakota War, the Colorado War, the Snake War, the Powder River War, Red Clouds War, the Comanche Campaign, the Modoc War, the Great Sioux War, the Buffalo Hunter’s War, the Nez Perce War, the Bannock War , the Cheyenne War, the Sheepeater War, Victorio’s War, the White River War, the Crow War, the Ghost Dance War, the Yaqui Wars, Crazy Snake’s War, the Bluff War, and the Posey War.

 

All of these wars against Native Americans! We seized their lands, appropriated their resources, and did everything possible to marginalize them and their cultures.

 

In Latin America:

 

The Mexican-American War, annexing much of Northern Mexico, Texas, and California.

 

The Spanish-American War, establishing the Cuban Protectorate.

 

The Banana Wars on behalf of United Fruit Company, occupying Haiti, the Dominican Repubic, and Nicaragua. The goal was to ensure that our banana monopoly would not be threatened by socialists/communists who would redistribute the wealth more equitably. We supported dictators instead.

 

The Little Race War in Cuba, in which we supported the lighter-skinned regime against the Independent Party of Color.

 

The Bay of Pigs in Cuba (defeated).

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The sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

 

The Dominican Civil War overturning the Bosch regime.

 

The invasion of Grenada. The reason was protection of our students. Similar to Russia’s reasoning about protecting Russian-speakers from Ukrainian fascists.

 

The Panama War, overturning Noriega’s dictatorship. We had supported him for many years, but he was beginning to go his own way.

 

The intervention in Haiti, reinstating Aristide.

 

In Europe:

 

Participation in the Russian Civil War (defeated by the Bolsheviks).

 

Participation in two World Wars.

 

The Bosnian and Croatian Wars.

 

The Kosovo War.

 

In the Pacific:

 

In Hawaii, American planters pressured for a new constitution based upon property qualifications for the vote, which denied the vote to native Hawaiians, as well as Chinese and Japanese workers. Queen Liliuokalani wanted a new constitution, so she was deposed in a coup led by American planter interests, backed by an American warship in Honolulu harbor. In 1898, Congress voted to annex Hawaii. Imperialism at its best.

 

The Second Samoan Civil War, acquiring American Samoa.

 

The Philippine-American and Moro Rebellion, leading to annexation of the Philippines.

 

In Asia:

 

Participation in the Boxer Rebellion, placing foreign troops in Beijing.

 

The Korean War.

 

The Vietnam War (defeated). We entered Vietnam after the French withdrew. The reason was the domino theory: if Vietnam fell to Communists, then other countries in the area would follow. Yet, Ho Chi Minh began as our ally. How did we go so wrong?

 

The Laotian Civil War (defeated).

 

The Cambodian Civil War (defeated).

 

In the Middle East:

 

The CIA-led coup in Iran, deposing the democratically elected Mossadegh, and installing the Shah, who ruled as a dictator for 26 years, until the Revolution in 1979. They have not forgotten. Is it any wonder that Iran is not a friend of the U.S.?

 

The Lebanon Crisis.

 

The bombing of Libya. The reason was non-existent weapons of mass destruction.

 

The Gulf War.

 

The Afghanistan War (defeated).

 

Intervention in Yemen.

 

The Iraq War. Again, non-existent weapons of mass destruction. And we labeled Saddam another Hitler.

 

Intervention in North-West Pakistan.

 

International intervention in Libya, overthrowing Gaddafi.

 

Intervention in Syria.

 

In Africa:

 

Intervention in the Somali Civil War (defeated).

 

Intervention in Uganda.

 

Intervention in Niger.

 

(Thanks to Wikipedia for this list.)

 

Many of these wars and interventions have been to oppose or to remove “leftists,” “socialists”, or “Communists.” My view is that a primary reason was to protect our business interests from the left, from fair taxation, from environmental regulation, and from worker protection. The quest for business stability led us to oppose the left, and to support the right, even if the right was dictatorial.

 

In 2018, Max Boot of the Washington Post gave us a partial list of the dictators we have supported: In Latin America, Fulgencio Batista (Cuba), Anastasio Somoza (Nicaragua), General Videla (Argentina), General Banzer (Bolivia), Augusto Pinochet (Chile), and Carlos Castillo Armas (Guatamala.) Others around the world include: Ferdinand Marcos (Phiippines), Mobutu Sese Seko (Democratic Republic of the Congo), , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Iran), Mohammed Zia ul-Haq (Pakistan), Syngman Rhee (South Korea) and Suharto (Indonesia).

 

How many other countries have been involved in as many wars and interventions in the past two hundred years? Are we, in our core, truly a peace-loving country? Officially, there always is a “good” reason to go to war, but have our reasons always been good? Why not strive to be the world’s leading peace-maker instead? Questions to ponder...

 

Our annual military budget is pushing $900 billion. If we cut this in half, we still would be spending more than any other country. Double the Chinese budget. Almost eight times the Russian budget. Do we need to spend this much to feel safe? Why not spend $450 billion a year more at home, benefiting our people?

 

On the one hand, we believe that we always are the “good guys” in the world. We believe that the U.S. Is the best country in the world. That we are and must remain number one in everything positive. That we are, indeed, exceptional.

 

On the other hand, our behavior over the centuries shows that those who came here to escape discrimination turned around and discriminated against newer immigrants. We took advantage of slavery for profit. We invaded and subverted other countries, even as we supported dictators who harmed their own people. We intervened in countries all over the world. We continue to discriminate against people of color, among others. We have not been that much better than many other nations.

 

In short, our behavior is not consistent with our professed beliefs. Our ideals are exceptional. Our behavior is not.

 

We need more humility both in domestic and in foreign affairs. We need more skepticism of what our leaders and the press say about other countries, and about our own country. We are not always the good guys, but we can strive to be better, interfering less and helping more. We need to match our ideals with our behavior. In short, we are not yet exceptional, but we truly could be, if only we would choose to live up to our exceptional ideals.

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Saturday, 25 Feb 2023