On U. S. Exceptionalism

The Opinion page of USA Today from September 23, 2014 featured a commentary on the College Board's AP U. S. History exam and its associated framework, or more accurately, on critics thereof. The counterpoint by Jane Robbins of the American Principles Project, entitled "Exam Erases U. S. Exceptionalism", stated "The origins of the framework have been traced to the philosophy that the U. S. is only one nation among many, and not a particularly admirable one at that." In other words, if you can't quote features from U. S. History that illustrate that America is better than other nations, don't say anything. And especially don't be critical.

As for the Curriculum Framework, Robbins urges: "Read it." Which I did. The framework advocates teaching critical thinking skills, based on broad themes of Identity, Economics, Politics and Power, America in the World and American Ideals and Culture, through 9 historical periods ranging from 1491 through the present. It encourages comparison and contrast, and the kind of thinking that is fostered by a liberal education.

So what's wrong with the ideal of U. S. Exceptionalism? Shouldn't everyone enjoy a little nationalism? Be proud of your country and its accomplishments? There are several problems: First, blind belief in American Exceptionalism prevents the viewer from seeing the real problems that every country has, and that need fixing. And to understand a problem, you need to know how you got there, which is what the study of history is all about. Second, the approach to history that Robbins advocates is the blind acceptance of cherry picked facts, which prevents the development of critical thinking skills which Americans desperately need.

And indeed, the deeper fear that conservatives like Robbins have is that students will develop thinking skills, that they will learn to think for themselves, and not accept what Robbins is pushing: dogma and romanticism.

Recalling history, rather than studying it rigorously, involves human memories, which are colored by human emotion. This leads to selective memory and romanticism. When political belief systems are involved, this leads to dogma. Neither have a place in the process of critical examination and thinking necessary for a student's education.