American Exceptionalism
Essays

Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War Washington rules: America's path to permanent war is an indictment of the Washington consensus that positions the U.S. as the World's Big Brother and Policeman. Commencing with the Truman Administration, Bacevich traces the birth, development and maintenance of the Washington consensus built on a credo in which the United States alone must "lead, save, liberate, and ultimately transform the world," along with the "trinity" of global military presence, global power projection and global interventionism. Based on these two elements of credo and trinity, along with the complacency of the American people, the United States has spread its military might around the globe in a so-called "flexible response" thrusting us "into a condition approximating perpetual war" that is costing the country dearly in human and nonhuman resources. Bacevich then suggests solutions in the form of a new credo in which the United States becomes a model of the ideals set forth in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. He also suggests a new trinity in which America shifts from: a large professional military constantly prepared for war to more of a citizen-warrior force; use of our military for world domination to use of the military for defense and vital interests only; global occupation to withdrawal from areas in which the cost clearly outweighs the benefit. Bacevich's book is widely praised, though problems have been noted. Though chiefly praising Bacevich's book, Gary J. Bass takes issue with: at least one of Bacevich's severe analogies between our policymakers and possibly Hitler; Bacevich's exclusion of examples in which American leaders and the American public acted against the foregone conclusion of the Washington consensus. Gerard De Groot also praises Bacevich's book but believes that Bacevich's belief that the American public can change the current situation is too optimistic. In addition to the criticisms posed by Bass and De Groot, it appears that Bacevich's suggestion of eliminating our large, well-armed professional military is an invitation to a disaster that we were fortunate to miss during World War II. Finally, Bacevich's suggestion of defense-only and vital interest-only use of our military raises significant issues about what constitutes "defense" and "vital interest," as well as the important issue of who will decide what constitutes "defense" and "vital interest." In sum, Bacevich's book raises important perspectives and historical examples that compel the reader to examine and challenge the current Washington consensus; however, the book is also somewhat flawed and/or incomplete.

When the American electorate re-elected George W. Bush as their President in November 2004, the rest of the world shook its head in collective amazement. They could not understand how someone the world 'loved to hate'…

In what ways did the events of 9/11 and the measures taken as a result of the tragedy affect the way in which America viewed itself in terms of its own might, its ability to secure its own citizens and detect new kinds…

Obama & Romney – Foreign Policy Approaches Introduction If "realist" stands for a person who pursues "security" based on "self-interest," "determinism," and "morality" on the international scene (quotes chosen from Chapter 1); and if "liberal" stands for "capable of cooperating," "cooperation," the impact of "non-governmental groups" (NGOs), "having many interests" and "international society," then President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both reflect some of each of these traits, albeit Obama leans more toward a liberal, cooperative approach to international relations and Romney stalks a position based more based on power and self interest and – although he doesn't spell it out in specifics – he embraces the concept of American exceptionalism (that is, the U.S. has the moral role of providing leadership for the world because American values are on a higher plane than other values). This paper reviews and critiques positions each candidate has taken on foreign policy issues, referencing the concepts of realist and liberal within the context of their various positions.

The United States of America, during the last years of the Nineteenth Century, witnessed a rash of corporate mergers. The Industrial Revolution had taken firm hold, and the nation was changing rapidly.

¶ … death toll rises in Iraq and questions are raised regarding the foreign policies practiced by the United States, books like Jack Donnelly's International Human Rights become particularly relevant.

I am writing today to discuss the issue of censorship, which I see as an imposition of socialism on our capitalism society. Specifically, I am alarmed by SOPA, the Internet censorship bill.

Political Science - International Relations

¶ … history seems only like a carefully curated set of facts, figures, and events that when taken together promote a specific ideology or worldview. Thus, Americans focus almost exclusively on people, places, and events…

This is an eight page paper about the 2012 presidential election. It is divided into five sections. The five sections include an introduction, a section on the issues, a section on the writer's opinion on the issues, a section on polling processes and methods, and a section on my prediction for the election. the issues selected include the economy, foreign policy, and immigration.