4 ms·
Not when you honestly believe in American Exceptionalism
by freshhawk 14y ago
Not when you honestly believe in American Exceptionalism
- rbanffy 14y agoCountries or terrorist groups rarely justify military action (even if it's cyberwarfare). At best, they explain it.
- philwelch 14y agoOn the contrary--they often go to great lengths to justify it. The German invasions of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands were deemed protective occupations, in order to prevent the Allies from invading them. The Gulf War was justified by a UN resolution. You can find some attempt, however feeble, to justify any recent military action.
- rbanffy 14y agoThat's the point. Each and every military action creates an attempt to justify it. It usually fails at both justifying it and explaining the actual reasons behind it.
- waqf 14y agoOn the contrary, hypocrisy is all about believing that "when I do it it's not wrong". Decrying something when you are ashamed that you secretly do it yourself is not hypocrisy, because it doesn't involve a double standard.
- cpeterso 14y agoIn a 2009 interview, Obama said, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." That is pretty mild support for American Exceptionalism, as defined by the GOP.
- MartinCron 14y agoIsn't exceptionalism just a code word for hypocrisy?
- marshray 14y agoPerhaps, but it's still useful as a distinct term because it refers to the body of argument used to justify it.