Exceptional

On Erin's Facebook this morning was a post from a local theatre star (don't know what his day job is): "Heard on Neal Boortz this morning: 'What if Americans spent less time expecting things and more time being exceptional?'"

First thing you need to know is that that latter word is a RightWing buzzword meaning that Amurrca deserves to do anything it wants because it has the best of everything in the world and never, ever makes mistakes. HateRadio/TV frequently blasts Obama thusly: "He doesn't believe in Amurrcan exceptionalism!!" It's in the DailyMemo from the RNC and Roger Ailes to FauxNews (Fair, Balanced and Blond), for example.

Second thing you need to know is that Neal Boortz kicks off the local HateRadio lineup here in Huntsville starting at 1000 AM. He is followed by Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, and then a guy at night whose name is something like Schnitts. That's fifteen hours daily of vile, poisonous hate directed primarily at Obama, who is referred to as jerk, coward, man-child, idiot, fool, arrogant, narcissistic, and other euphemistic epithets that are code for uppity you-know-what. They hate him, of course, because he is so damned smart, cool-under fire, has utter control of issues and facts, tells the truth, can speak off the cuff without teleprompter, monitor or even notes (without repeating himself), and stops bullshit in its tracks. I have problems with his leadership so far, but that's because I'm more liberal than most, and would love to have seen him give those Dems several whacks upside the head, ála Johnson, and git 'er done. I think he's far too idealistic for his own good and underestimates Republican hatred for--and envy of--him. ('Bipartisan,' my ass, sir. You should have given up on those bozos long ago, kicked Democratic butt, and dragged this benighted, stupid society into the Land of Reason).

***

Enough prologue. To Erin's correspondent:

We are exceptional, dude, ipso facto. We don't have to spend any time trying to be. Among the most advanced societies in the world (I speak primarily of most of Western Europe and much of East Asia), we are utterly exceptional. Let me count the ways in which we lead:

• We are the most obese, the laziest thus least fit, the dumbest (much of the reason for this is our rate of evangelical church attendance) , the sickest because of lack of decent health care, the least informed (see 'dumbest' and watch ClusterFox for ten minutes), and we have the smuggest, most uncaring, most sanctimonious, least tolerant Christians in the entire world; economically, we are shameless whores to big corporations and field more monopolies than 'socialist' countries (you think our health care industry wants 'free market principles?' Uh-uh).
  
• We have far less public transport than other countries and the worst road conditions (I've driven/ridden on them all), we use more fossil fuels and eat more meat, we pollute more than anyone except the emerging giant of China, we are the most in debt to other countries--mostly to China, and we have the largest, most shameful financial gap between Haves and Have-Nots in the civilized world; we also have the least knowledge of--not to mention sense of--history (for most of us, history extends only to last Tuesday);
  
• We make the worst cars, following a half-century head start on the rest of the world, recent Toyota problems notwithstanding, and our government bodies have the most disdain for intellectuals, artists, and the highly educated than any since those of Stalin and Pol Pot. Other than bad cars, by the way, we don't make anything else anymore, including sense;
  
• Finally, we are approaching Italy in competition for the Lamest, Least Effective, Most Venal Government. And we also win the prize worldwide for Male Politicians with the Neatest Hair (many look like televangelists or Southern Baptist ministers, especially the Republicans), and we have already won the prize several times for Proudly Stupidest Person Ever Elected President.

There! See how Exceptional we are?! And without even trying! I am so proud of my country! Proud enough, at least, to have continued to try to help improve it my entire life. But I think I may join Kurt Vonnegut, who gave up trying at the end of his life. After reading the news daily, I am coming to that place, too. More and more, I find myself agreeing with Bill Maher, who has maintained our cultural stupidity for some time now, especially after witnessing the Palin/TeaBag phenomenon. His latest, after watching Republicans stall at the HC Summit, and seeing poll numbers about the health bill?

'This country sucks.'

Yeah, Bill, at times it do. Exceptionally so.