By Ezrah Aharone 12/09
While President Obama revs-up the war machinery during this holiday season as he simultaneously holds the Nobel Peace Prize, it brings ponder to the possibility of lasting peace, considering that this conflict also embodies a borderless ideological “collision of religions.”
Although 9/11 makes the US feel justified in droning Afghanistan into submission, a few factors are worth noting since the groups known as Al Qaeda, Taliban, and Islamists are not all regional members of some Lodge-like fraternity who attend annual conventions to blow-up airplanes. Just as Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden weren’t “colleagues,” they don’t all know each other or have close bonds. I’d bet that 9/11 was just as surprising to Americans as it was to many of the very combatants that the US now targets in the mountains of Afghanistan.
If you read A History of God by Karen Armstrong, you’ll find that the autonomous tribes and clans throughout this region have been warring and exacting “rough-and-ready” justice on themselves and invaders for centuries. Afghanistan is not only called the “Graveyard of Empires” because of its war victories, it’s a land where loyalty can be “rented” to the highest bidder. In fact, Afghans have a term called “Turning Turbans” to signify the switching of sides and loyalties.
But in this case, the one uncompromising factor is their Islamic belief and obligation to rid-out Westerners whom they regard as foreign occupiers and infidels. Before resigning his State Department post, former Marine Captain, Matthew Hoh, aptly assessed that Afghans are fighting in some areas only because the US military “is there.” If American soldiers weren’t “there,” many Afghan fighters would have a pre-9/11 outlook when America was not a “declared enemy.”
Meantime, despite the public’s mounting war outcries and economic anxieties, Obama has done something that can potentially reserve him a seat among the pantheon of the greatest commander-in-chiefs – He has become a “wartime president.” Many of the most renowned American presidents have the “glorified” distinction of being war leaders.
America’s warped fascination with war is openly boasted in its national anthem, which puts a twist of splendor on the butchery during the War of 1812 – “the perilous fight,” “ramparts gallantly streaming,” “rocket’s red glare,” “bombs bursting in air.” If you want instant success, just make a blood-spattering war movie that depicts American bravery and greatness. Don’t make the mistake though of featuring Black heroes like Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna because that lacks comparative box-office appeal.
This cancerous love affair with blood, circulates the veins of society and manifests in everything from the highest crime rate and gun homicides in the world; to belligerent television, movies, and video games for “entertainment” pleasures; to routine abortions and capital punishment; to random mass murders of schoolchildren; to over 90,000 annual rapes of women.
A nation’s true character is defined – not by fluffy words in its constitution – but by the moral and cumulative sum of its historical conduct. Yet America, with its enduring history of questionable wars and centuries of racialized misconduct, has a false self-perception of being a nation of peace. Dr. King called the US government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world” . . . and said God hasn’t “appointed America as his messianic force, a kind of policeman of the whole world.”
America has a national holiday recognizing Dr. King and his nonviolent philosophy, but nonviolence is certainly not America’s philosophy. Nonviolence is something that Black America is conditioned to practice towards Euro-Americans, but nonviolence is considered a cardinal weakness by this establishment. Heck, America isn’t even fond of compromise, and it definitely doesn’t “love its enemies.” It practices an unrepentant “eye-for-eye” variety of Christianity that “lives by the sword.”
The religious notion that God endorses the US military is reinforced in the “Oath of Enlistment” that all soldiers must “swear,” which evokes “Faith” and eerily concludes with the words, “So Help Me God.” As Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia affirmed, “A religious-neutral government does not fit with an America that reflects belief in God in everything from its money to its military.”
If the reverse occurred whereby the Christian streets of America were stormed by Muslim soldiers with Blackwater-like mercenaries, ordinary Americans would fight no less fiercely than Afghans. Call them terrorists or whatever else, but based on their longstanding heritage and religious convictions they have no intentions to allow America, via the corrupted Hamid Kharzi government, to institute a Plymouth Rock-like presence in Afghanistan.
Consequently, the decade of 2010 launches with an outright, but undeclared, “Religious War” with Crusaders on one side, Jihadists on the other, with no negotiating table between these two Abrahamic faiths that originally share spiritual commonalities without today’s political complexities. So, as with Iraq, it’s near-certain that Afghanistan won’t become a vacation destination for Americans in your lifetime.
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He is also a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Placebos of Black Political Leadership
By Ezrah Aharone 11/09
The election of President Barack Obama is shifting America’s axis of race in ways that have yet to be politically quantified. But from a standpoint of Black political leadership, it signals a definite “changing of the guards.” The once-popular preacher/protester ilk of leadership from the 1960s finds itself gasping for 21st century oxygen, as young Black leaders are card-carrying democrats who can now “eyeball” whomever they please.
Perception suggests that African Americans are finally becoming politically powerful as a people. But every industrialized nation with an ethnically diverse population has a general “pecking order” of power, starting with the dominant group most able to leverage capital might into political influence that shapes foreign, domestic, and military policies. All other simulations of power (freedoms of speech, press, assembly etc.) are like political window-dressings of democracy that may boost patriotism, but lack utility for minority people to command such influence.
Similarly, people who’ve taken “Placebo” sugar pills, sometimes experience boosts in health, being that they psychologically expect and believe the tablets contain “medicinal properties” to cure them. In much the same way, America’s placebos (civil rights, integration, citizenship) have given us expectations and beliefs of power, when in reality, they lack the “political properties” of control (sovereignty, independence, statehood) wielded by Euro-Americans . . . Which is exactly why our centuries-old ailments remain largely uncured.
Although upcoming generations of Black leaders are digesting Americanization more easily, I’m reminded of Winston Churchill who once remarked that Euro-Americans will always “do the right thing, after they’ve exhausted all alternatives.” And so, racial progress and the rise of Black political leaders cannot be disconnected from America’s habitual militarism and its 21st century requirements for economic survivability . . . Honestly, how much longer could we be coaxed into voting for White multimillionaires and fighting ambiguous wars abroad if we still faced stark Jim Crowness here?
But whether you believe it or not, there remains unvoiced resentment towards civil rights leaders for pricking lasting nerves. Euro-Americans have a known nationalist tendency of not liking to be cited or corrected of their political flaws and flagrances. So naturally this establishment welcomes fresh, race-neutral Black leaders who skillfully steer around the systemic/endemic nature and ramifications of America’s racial inequities, which Obama faultlessly personifies.
Part of his ascension involved soothing the historical burdens of White guilt, while keeping civil rights leaders at arms-length to prevent staining his political immaculacy of White acceptance. As such, he cryptically foretold during his campaign that “he’s rooted in the Black community, but not limited by it.”
My question is – What crime did we commit as a people where someone would have to present such a political defense for himself? If everyone is “equal” why then, conversely, is he “not limited by the White community” since he’s also half-White? Most troubling however is the unseen, unchallenged “source” that compelled him to make this disclaimer since it holds proven capabilities to diminish us, as Black people, beneath the respect and political worth that all people deserve.
Despite such subliminal credence to Whiteness, the repercussions of centuries of Euro-American greed and immoralities are heading homeward to roost. Not only is America experiencing an internal crisis of leadership and financial upheaval, its international integrity and superpower image are jeopardized, as the world community frowns upon its brash war escapades. In response, it has become strategically expedient for Euro-American males to deflect the government’s aggression away from themselves.
Similar to the Lone Ranger designating Tonto “the leader” (after being surrounded by angry Indians) the establishment hopes Obama and other Black leaders like Attorney General Eric Holder and UN Ambassador Susan Rice, can convey a “placebo appearance” that the US government is no longer a big, bad, all-White wolf with the blood of Black and Brown people dripping from its fangs. Together, they put a converted face of “change” on what otherwise is a contiguous history of “Euro-American hegemony as usual.”
Yes, America is multicultural. Yes, Africans in America are making progress. But in our honest pursuit of political power – via the leadership tutelage of Euro-Americans – it is our spiritual responsibility to question if we, in the process, are becoming proxy participants in a 21st century continuation of the same “interloping for resources” that initially barbarized us and Native Americans, under the pretext of “freedom and democracy.”
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He is also a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
The election of President Barack Obama is shifting America’s axis of race in ways that have yet to be politically quantified. But from a standpoint of Black political leadership, it signals a definite “changing of the guards.” The once-popular preacher/protester ilk of leadership from the 1960s finds itself gasping for 21st century oxygen, as young Black leaders are card-carrying democrats who can now “eyeball” whomever they please.
Perception suggests that African Americans are finally becoming politically powerful as a people. But every industrialized nation with an ethnically diverse population has a general “pecking order” of power, starting with the dominant group most able to leverage capital might into political influence that shapes foreign, domestic, and military policies. All other simulations of power (freedoms of speech, press, assembly etc.) are like political window-dressings of democracy that may boost patriotism, but lack utility for minority people to command such influence.
Similarly, people who’ve taken “Placebo” sugar pills, sometimes experience boosts in health, being that they psychologically expect and believe the tablets contain “medicinal properties” to cure them. In much the same way, America’s placebos (civil rights, integration, citizenship) have given us expectations and beliefs of power, when in reality, they lack the “political properties” of control (sovereignty, independence, statehood) wielded by Euro-Americans . . . Which is exactly why our centuries-old ailments remain largely uncured.
Although upcoming generations of Black leaders are digesting Americanization more easily, I’m reminded of Winston Churchill who once remarked that Euro-Americans will always “do the right thing, after they’ve exhausted all alternatives.” And so, racial progress and the rise of Black political leaders cannot be disconnected from America’s habitual militarism and its 21st century requirements for economic survivability . . . Honestly, how much longer could we be coaxed into voting for White multimillionaires and fighting ambiguous wars abroad if we still faced stark Jim Crowness here?
But whether you believe it or not, there remains unvoiced resentment towards civil rights leaders for pricking lasting nerves. Euro-Americans have a known nationalist tendency of not liking to be cited or corrected of their political flaws and flagrances. So naturally this establishment welcomes fresh, race-neutral Black leaders who skillfully steer around the systemic/endemic nature and ramifications of America’s racial inequities, which Obama faultlessly personifies.
Part of his ascension involved soothing the historical burdens of White guilt, while keeping civil rights leaders at arms-length to prevent staining his political immaculacy of White acceptance. As such, he cryptically foretold during his campaign that “he’s rooted in the Black community, but not limited by it.”
My question is – What crime did we commit as a people where someone would have to present such a political defense for himself? If everyone is “equal” why then, conversely, is he “not limited by the White community” since he’s also half-White? Most troubling however is the unseen, unchallenged “source” that compelled him to make this disclaimer since it holds proven capabilities to diminish us, as Black people, beneath the respect and political worth that all people deserve.
Despite such subliminal credence to Whiteness, the repercussions of centuries of Euro-American greed and immoralities are heading homeward to roost. Not only is America experiencing an internal crisis of leadership and financial upheaval, its international integrity and superpower image are jeopardized, as the world community frowns upon its brash war escapades. In response, it has become strategically expedient for Euro-American males to deflect the government’s aggression away from themselves.
Similar to the Lone Ranger designating Tonto “the leader” (after being surrounded by angry Indians) the establishment hopes Obama and other Black leaders like Attorney General Eric Holder and UN Ambassador Susan Rice, can convey a “placebo appearance” that the US government is no longer a big, bad, all-White wolf with the blood of Black and Brown people dripping from its fangs. Together, they put a converted face of “change” on what otherwise is a contiguous history of “Euro-American hegemony as usual.”
Yes, America is multicultural. Yes, Africans in America are making progress. But in our honest pursuit of political power – via the leadership tutelage of Euro-Americans – it is our spiritual responsibility to question if we, in the process, are becoming proxy participants in a 21st century continuation of the same “interloping for resources” that initially barbarized us and Native Americans, under the pretext of “freedom and democracy.”
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He is also a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Vices of American Values
Besides occurring on the same day, what does Michael Vick’s release from prison for funding dogfights have in common with President Barack Obama and Dick Cheney’s dueling speeches over Guantanamo prisoners? . . . Both incidences display elements of a deep-entrenched breach between the “values” that America claims, and the “vices” that America commits.
Speaking at the National Archives with pomp images of America’s founding documents in the background, Obama said closing Guantanamo would “enlist America’s values.” Cheney professed to uphold “American values” too, as he repudiated Obama’s objectives as “recklessness cloaked in righteousness.” Though their conflicting versions of values involved 21-century torture, the head-on moral collision between America’s “creeds and deeds” dates back to when the founding documents were conceived.
When critiquing “American values” you must admit, there’s something troubling about enslavement ending in 1865 after 15 presidents, while the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was established the next year in 1866. An additional 19 presidents with these same values would then watch a century of lynching and legalized segregation, as legislation was simultaneously petitioned to criminalize the mistreatment of animals. Fast-forward to today and it’s not unrelated that dogfights and other animal stories can plaster headlines, while society yawns with apathy over incessant Black-on-Black murders and warehouse incarcerations of Black youths.
Have you noticed that it’s quite popular nowadays to be seen or photographed with pets? . . . As though this somehow signals that a person is “humanized.” Statistics show that 42 percent of American pet owners sleep in bed with animals. Pet industry revenues of $41 billion, exceed the GNP of all but 64 nations. I’m not against pets, so don’t email PETA. My point is that – Perhaps if government and society’s concerns for animals were ratably reflected historically in genuine democracy and humanity, there’d be no troubling record of slavery or segregation yesterday and there’d be little racism, militarism, and torture today.
Obama’s pitch on values may sound good – after 43 other presidents – but by consequence of its vices, America has assorted varieties of dirty laundry in its basement. Like, for instance, the Iran-Contra Scandal where the aftermath ripple-effects of crack cocaine remain menacing and unaddressed in Black communities. Certain nations and groups however with unsettled gripes (call them terrorists, insurgents, enemy combatants, Axis of Evil, or whatever) are not as “politically congenial” as African Americans. Right or wrong, some are willing to respond with their own forms of “fighting for freedom.”
Cheney’s pitch on values may sound sinister, but he stands on the fact that America hasn’t been attacked since 9-11. It’s unknown whether this is attributed to waterboarding or running POW facilities like male strip-club joints. What is known however is that, if an American slips on a banana peel planted by “terrorists,” fingers will point and blame Obama saying “We told you so.”
At this stage, America is too deep into the global chess-game of power to suddenly become moralistic. And it certainly cannot afford to lower its guard, which is evidenced partially by Obama’s recant on releasing new photos of “enhanced interrogations,” as well as the Senate’s 90-6 vote to deny funding to close Guantanamo.
US citizens may swallow benevolent versions of America’s values, where firemen rush to rescue kittens from treetops, and Michael Vick volunteers at animal shelters to show he’s “rehabilitated” enough to “throw a football.” But from a US government and security standpoint, war and power is a ruthless business where values apply upon convenience, mostly for the media and textbooks. Remember, America did not amass its “superpower” status by adhering to the nonviolent values of Dr. King or “turning the other cheek” of Christianity. Thus, as the 44th president, when it comes to the sovereign survival of this European nation called America, Obama is a fragmental part of a political continuum of vices that he can neither temporarily escape nor permanently change.
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He is also a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
Speaking at the National Archives with pomp images of America’s founding documents in the background, Obama said closing Guantanamo would “enlist America’s values.” Cheney professed to uphold “American values” too, as he repudiated Obama’s objectives as “recklessness cloaked in righteousness.” Though their conflicting versions of values involved 21-century torture, the head-on moral collision between America’s “creeds and deeds” dates back to when the founding documents were conceived.
When critiquing “American values” you must admit, there’s something troubling about enslavement ending in 1865 after 15 presidents, while the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was established the next year in 1866. An additional 19 presidents with these same values would then watch a century of lynching and legalized segregation, as legislation was simultaneously petitioned to criminalize the mistreatment of animals. Fast-forward to today and it’s not unrelated that dogfights and other animal stories can plaster headlines, while society yawns with apathy over incessant Black-on-Black murders and warehouse incarcerations of Black youths.
Have you noticed that it’s quite popular nowadays to be seen or photographed with pets? . . . As though this somehow signals that a person is “humanized.” Statistics show that 42 percent of American pet owners sleep in bed with animals. Pet industry revenues of $41 billion, exceed the GNP of all but 64 nations. I’m not against pets, so don’t email PETA. My point is that – Perhaps if government and society’s concerns for animals were ratably reflected historically in genuine democracy and humanity, there’d be no troubling record of slavery or segregation yesterday and there’d be little racism, militarism, and torture today.
Obama’s pitch on values may sound good – after 43 other presidents – but by consequence of its vices, America has assorted varieties of dirty laundry in its basement. Like, for instance, the Iran-Contra Scandal where the aftermath ripple-effects of crack cocaine remain menacing and unaddressed in Black communities. Certain nations and groups however with unsettled gripes (call them terrorists, insurgents, enemy combatants, Axis of Evil, or whatever) are not as “politically congenial” as African Americans. Right or wrong, some are willing to respond with their own forms of “fighting for freedom.”
Cheney’s pitch on values may sound sinister, but he stands on the fact that America hasn’t been attacked since 9-11. It’s unknown whether this is attributed to waterboarding or running POW facilities like male strip-club joints. What is known however is that, if an American slips on a banana peel planted by “terrorists,” fingers will point and blame Obama saying “We told you so.”
At this stage, America is too deep into the global chess-game of power to suddenly become moralistic. And it certainly cannot afford to lower its guard, which is evidenced partially by Obama’s recant on releasing new photos of “enhanced interrogations,” as well as the Senate’s 90-6 vote to deny funding to close Guantanamo.
US citizens may swallow benevolent versions of America’s values, where firemen rush to rescue kittens from treetops, and Michael Vick volunteers at animal shelters to show he’s “rehabilitated” enough to “throw a football.” But from a US government and security standpoint, war and power is a ruthless business where values apply upon convenience, mostly for the media and textbooks. Remember, America did not amass its “superpower” status by adhering to the nonviolent values of Dr. King or “turning the other cheek” of Christianity. Thus, as the 44th president, when it comes to the sovereign survival of this European nation called America, Obama is a fragmental part of a political continuum of vices that he can neither temporarily escape nor permanently change.
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He is also a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
Friday, April 24, 2009
American Exceptionalism vs. Obama's Idealism
During his European debut, a reporter in Strasbourg, France asked President Obama if he subscribes to the school of “American Exceptionalism” as did his predecessors. Being the first Black president and known as a uniter, the question weighs heavy in irony since America’s self-grandiosity is tied to military aggression and presidential legacies that are littered with unapologetic ethnic and cultural indifference. Although not a common term, African Americans should form long lines like voting to get information whenever the subject of “Exceptionalism” is mentioned.
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville coined “Exceptionalism” in his 1835 book Democracy in America to describe the notion that America considers itself a superior and trustworthy nation that’s favored by God to play a special political, economic, religious, and military role in the world . . . Therefore, U.S. values and policies are presupposed by Americans as right and best for all nations to follow. Nothing is inherently wrong or unjust with any country espousing “Exceptionalism.” The problem and danger is when such views are pursued or imposed at the human or sovereign expense of others.
America’s brand of “Exceptionalism” took Machiavellian detours along the way for the worst. Yes, it verbally professes “Equality and Justice for All,” but at its core remains a prevailing Manifest Destiny for wealth, resources, and power that’s paved in blood and knows no bounds. Because of this duplicity, “American Exceptionalism” can only stand limited-level scrutiny before depths of contradictions and sensitivities are reached that this establishment prefers not to redress.
But all this is belied by “religious fluff” that cloaks what otherwise is inexcusable historical conduct engaged by both parties. Based on the puritanical overtones associated with its founding history and founding fathers, you would think America is spiritually incapable of human and civil rights violations that legalized enslavement and segregation to contrarily coexist with “democracy” for centuries, with impunity.
Today, the same arrogant nature of “Exceptionalism” allows America to “forgive itself” for the past and become an Evangelical arbiter that places labels of “evil” on nations with comparatively far less guilt. The U.S. government is also quick to holler “war crimes” against other nations, yet conversely doesn’t want U.S. soldiers, officials or mercenaries like Blackwater, subjected to possible prosecution for war crimes at the International Criminal Court – Even though Obama says “America does not torture.”
Politicians popularly say, “God bless America.” But it’s politically unthinkable to ever associate God with “punishment,” as did Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans who then had to apologize after Hurricane Katrina for saying, “God is mad at America . . . and doesn’t approve of Iraq.” “Exceptionalism” was also behind the denunciation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Black Liberation Theology. (Note how the media bleeps-out the word “damn” where he says “God damn America” in his infamous sermon . . . as though it’s too unbearable to broadcast on airwaves that are already filthied with commercialized vulgarities, violence, and sexual content).
Protestant theologies stem from yearnings within groups to relate and appeal to God to address their specific hardships. The only difference between Black Liberation Theology and any other “Protestant” theology, like Lutheranism or Methodism, is that the “Protest” is directed against flagrances of America as opposed to the Catholic Church or British Crown. So of course, according to “Exceptionalism,” Rev. Wright and Black Liberation Theology must be discredited in the mainstream. This establishment will not sit silent and watch a Black president relate or appeal to God in ways that deem them transgressors. They’ve studied Aristotle well-enough at think tanks and Ivy institutions to know that a government must always give appearances of “uncommon devotion to religion” so that “subjects do less easily move against” it.
All in all, “Exceptionalism” has thrived ever since their formative years when Euro-Americans were considered roving bands of “Rebellious Brits” who defied King George III. Although the Declaration of Independence and Constitution clearly weren’t intended to apply to Black people, the same political elements of “Exceptionalism” that assured our past exclusion are now actively revising history right before our very eyes, by propagating Obama’s presidency as the long-awaited ethnic fulfillment of the founder’s “real” intents of democracy and equality.
Being a great idealist and well-schooled articulator of universal aspirations, Obama admitted America was “imperfect,” but he smoothed-over the question as though “Exceptionalism” only applies to America’s greatness, and as though his predecessors were all as race-neutral as he. Like his predecessors however his job is to defend America; deviances against us included. Even a Black president doesn’t alter the reality that we as Africans have integrated into an already-sovereign European society . . . And because of the hypnotic sways of this thing called “American Exceptionalism” we find ourselves paying tribute to heroes, holidays, and history that otherwise would make no political or logical sense.
This blog was culled in part from Ezrah Aharone’s 2009 book, Sovereign Evolution (Chapter 4: “The Cloak of Exceptionalism”). He is also the author of Pawned Sovereignty and a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville coined “Exceptionalism” in his 1835 book Democracy in America to describe the notion that America considers itself a superior and trustworthy nation that’s favored by God to play a special political, economic, religious, and military role in the world . . . Therefore, U.S. values and policies are presupposed by Americans as right and best for all nations to follow. Nothing is inherently wrong or unjust with any country espousing “Exceptionalism.” The problem and danger is when such views are pursued or imposed at the human or sovereign expense of others.
America’s brand of “Exceptionalism” took Machiavellian detours along the way for the worst. Yes, it verbally professes “Equality and Justice for All,” but at its core remains a prevailing Manifest Destiny for wealth, resources, and power that’s paved in blood and knows no bounds. Because of this duplicity, “American Exceptionalism” can only stand limited-level scrutiny before depths of contradictions and sensitivities are reached that this establishment prefers not to redress.
But all this is belied by “religious fluff” that cloaks what otherwise is inexcusable historical conduct engaged by both parties. Based on the puritanical overtones associated with its founding history and founding fathers, you would think America is spiritually incapable of human and civil rights violations that legalized enslavement and segregation to contrarily coexist with “democracy” for centuries, with impunity.
Today, the same arrogant nature of “Exceptionalism” allows America to “forgive itself” for the past and become an Evangelical arbiter that places labels of “evil” on nations with comparatively far less guilt. The U.S. government is also quick to holler “war crimes” against other nations, yet conversely doesn’t want U.S. soldiers, officials or mercenaries like Blackwater, subjected to possible prosecution for war crimes at the International Criminal Court – Even though Obama says “America does not torture.”
Politicians popularly say, “God bless America.” But it’s politically unthinkable to ever associate God with “punishment,” as did Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans who then had to apologize after Hurricane Katrina for saying, “God is mad at America . . . and doesn’t approve of Iraq.” “Exceptionalism” was also behind the denunciation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Black Liberation Theology. (Note how the media bleeps-out the word “damn” where he says “God damn America” in his infamous sermon . . . as though it’s too unbearable to broadcast on airwaves that are already filthied with commercialized vulgarities, violence, and sexual content).
Protestant theologies stem from yearnings within groups to relate and appeal to God to address their specific hardships. The only difference between Black Liberation Theology and any other “Protestant” theology, like Lutheranism or Methodism, is that the “Protest” is directed against flagrances of America as opposed to the Catholic Church or British Crown. So of course, according to “Exceptionalism,” Rev. Wright and Black Liberation Theology must be discredited in the mainstream. This establishment will not sit silent and watch a Black president relate or appeal to God in ways that deem them transgressors. They’ve studied Aristotle well-enough at think tanks and Ivy institutions to know that a government must always give appearances of “uncommon devotion to religion” so that “subjects do less easily move against” it.
All in all, “Exceptionalism” has thrived ever since their formative years when Euro-Americans were considered roving bands of “Rebellious Brits” who defied King George III. Although the Declaration of Independence and Constitution clearly weren’t intended to apply to Black people, the same political elements of “Exceptionalism” that assured our past exclusion are now actively revising history right before our very eyes, by propagating Obama’s presidency as the long-awaited ethnic fulfillment of the founder’s “real” intents of democracy and equality.
Being a great idealist and well-schooled articulator of universal aspirations, Obama admitted America was “imperfect,” but he smoothed-over the question as though “Exceptionalism” only applies to America’s greatness, and as though his predecessors were all as race-neutral as he. Like his predecessors however his job is to defend America; deviances against us included. Even a Black president doesn’t alter the reality that we as Africans have integrated into an already-sovereign European society . . . And because of the hypnotic sways of this thing called “American Exceptionalism” we find ourselves paying tribute to heroes, holidays, and history that otherwise would make no political or logical sense.
This blog was culled in part from Ezrah Aharone’s 2009 book, Sovereign Evolution (Chapter 4: “The Cloak of Exceptionalism”). He is also the author of Pawned Sovereignty and a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at Ezrah@theCSA.org.
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