Another way in which the 2012 election is about the very definition of America has a much, much broader context. From a World Historical point of view - the distant bird's-eye picture through time and space - the United States has a unique role in what we consider to be the Modern era, or the Modern world. Our world. It is difficult, if not impossible, for those of us who live in the United States today to look at our place in this world objectively.
World Historians attempt to "periodize" the human past, to divide it into logical eras in order to facilitate study. The periods, or eras, that make sense to a given generation of historians are naturally going to change over time as we gain perspective and insight into the past, and as research agendas evolve. Most current World Historians writing in the English language divide human history into something like this:
Paleolithic Era (from the evolution of homo sapiens to about 8,000 BC)
Neolithic Era (about 8,000 - 3,500 BC)
Ancient Era (about 3,500-500 BC)
Classical Era (about 500 BC - 1500 AD)
Modern Era (about 1500-2000 AD)
Of these divisions, the two eras whose dates are least agreed-upon from a World Historical point of view are the Classical and the Modern. We'll leave the Classical Era up in the air for the moment and focus on the Modern.
What is debatable about the Modern Era is whether we are, in fact, still in it. For several decades scholars, artists and others have been sensing a major shift in human identity which has raised many questions... they can be summed up as: "are we reaching or have we reached the end of the Modern era?" To answer that question requires an exploration of what it means to be Modern in the first place. And one explanation of what it means to be Modern begins in the late 1400s with the aggressive outbound explorations of various Western European powers.
Other regions of the world, by the 1400s, had developed thriving commerce (Indian Ocean trade, Silk Roads), and had experienced major scientific and cultural achievements (China, Islamic Empires). Starting in the 15th century, it was Western Europe's turn to flourish... the historical phenomena we know as the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment helped define the mindset of Modern Western society. The core values of the United States - freedom, democracy, capitalism, equality of opportunity - were articulated during this early Modern period and ultimately transferred from Western Europe to the United States in its very infancy. The founding values of America were largely developed as part of the Western European Enlightenment. Together, the American Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution represent, in this sense, a profound culmination of European Enlightenment thinking.
One way in which Western Europe's flourishing took a different turn from the flourishing of other World Historical powers was in the aggressive and hugely successful manner in which it engaged in empire-building. If Western Europe had merely experienced a period of regional dominance, our contemporary world would look a lot different. That the founding values of a country located in North America, for example, should be Western European in origin was not the least bit inevitable. Starting in the 1400s, Western European powers engaged in aggressive campaigns of exploration and empire-building. The eventual result was not only a controlling physical presence of Western Europeans, to some degree, on all continents of the world except Antarctica but, importantly, the exportation of Western European political, economic and cultural values to those regions.
The initial part of this process of exporting Western European values to other parts of the world was completed by force. In the Americas and Australia, for example, the vast majority of native people either died (current estimates are about 90% in the Americas) or adpated to the new European realities. Force was applied differently in Africa and Asia. Those continents did not experience the near-total demographic shifts that have permanently changed the Americas and Australia.
Later, however, non-Western European people from various parts of the world began to find themselves wooed by some Western European values. Democracy was appealing, as were the high standards of living that seemed to be facilitated by capitalist economies. The political and economic success of the United States, in particular, came to be admired and emulated by many in the non-Western European world. The notion that the United States was "exceptional," an emulable model for "developing" countries, took hold. You could argue that the Modern Era has been a progression from aggressive European expansion in the early Modern era, through forced and unforced Eurocentrism as Modernity matured and the Western world's center of power shifted to the new United States, merging into American exceptionalism in the late Modern period of the 20th century.
Where does that leave us in Century 21?
The notion of "American Exceptionalism" is near and dear to the hearts of many, many Americans. We're Number One... how else should it be? But keep in mind that American Exceptionalism is a culmination of a long progression of historical circumstances that are intimately tied to the rise, and perhaps the fall, of the Modern Era itself. There are many indications that the Modern Era is waning, or that it has already waned. One of those indications is that Western-style capitalism is going through the kinds of challenges we see unfolding around us. The values that undergird Western economies are being seriously questioned both within the Western nations and from without. Another indication is that fewer non-Western countries are choosing to emulate American-style political foundations. More on that later. These shifts in global thinking should not make us fearful. We should not take them personally as anti-Americanism. We should take them for what they are - evolving realities. Opportunities to lead.
The United States will almost certainly play an important role in whatever World Historical era lies ahead of us next. But how important? How central? How exceptional? And, critically, will we as a country lead this change or fight it? That, I think, is what finally brings us back to the election season of 2012. Some claim that it is unpatriotic to even suggest that the United States might not hold onto its "exceptional" status forever. On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who believe that the increasingly global dynamics of the 21st century call for a more universal approach, an approach that reflects, even celebrates, the rich diversity of human experience around the globe... more balance, less bravado.
Allusions to American exceptionalism have peppered the 2012 primary race so far and will, no doubt, come up in the Presidential race once a Rebublican nominee has been chosen. The Republican nominee, whoever he is, will argue that President Obama does not believe the United States is exceptional and that he therefore presents a threat to the core of our very existence. All three of the remaining likely nominees - Romney, Santorum and Gingrich - agree about this. The race for President, from their point of view, really is a fight for the very existence of the America we know and love.
It may be, however, that the real exceptionalism of the United States will lie in the way it negotiates what is certain to be a challenging transition from the Modern world we know to whatever comes next. Perhaps we will come to play a key role in the global leadership that evolves over the next 50 years. Or perhaps we will cling to an outdated Superpower status until our better days are firmly behind us. Hopefully, whoever wins the race for President in 2012 will, once in office, leave the rhetoric behind and move forward with vision, intelligence and respect for the realities of the new and evolving era we find ourselves entering.
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