From Ignorance to Arrogance

To celebrate his recent triumph in the Florida senatorial elections, Marco Rubio gave a speech in which he praised “North American exceptionalism”.

“America,” Rubio said, rhetorically using the name of the entire continent to refer to the United States, “is the single greatest nation in all of human history, a place without equal in the history of all mankind.”

Revealing his insatiable appetite for hyperbole, Rubio also made a remark unique in the history of arrogance: “While in almost any other country in the world a person’s destiny is predetermined,” only in the United States can “a person make his own destiny.”*

If I am to believe in the sincerity of his words, then I must imagine that at the age of thirty-nine this man has never heard the well-tempered harpsichord of Johann Sebastian Bach, has never read even one volume of “The Human Comedy” by Honoré de Balzac, and is ambivalent about Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. He also has never felt the magic of Palenque or Machu Picchu, never made anyone fall in love with him through the poems of Pablo Neruda, and when someone talks to him about Plato’s Dialogues he thinks of dishes.

I can justify his ignorance because I am familiar with the deplorable state of education in the United States, but what is unforgivable is Rubio’s arrogance and that of his tea party colleagues, like Sarah Palin, with their incessant sermons about North American exceptionalism.

“The United States,” wrote G.K. Chesterton, “is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed … set forth … in the Declaration of Independence.” Unlike the rest of the world, North American identity did not arise from a common national history, but from a belief conceived by a handful of illustrious men who proposed five more or less vague principles–liberty, equality, individualism, populism and laissez-faire–in order to provide the substance of what are called “American values”.

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville breathed new life into the fundamental creed by defining the United States as an exceptional country. Today, according to a recent Yahoo poll, 75 percent of North Americans share the belief that the United States is not only exceptional, but “the best country in the world.”

Drowning in their almost theological rhetoric, the majority of people in this country cannot conceive, for example, that in Great Britain, Sweden, Chile, Spain, France and other countries in the world socialist parties that govern democratically do exist. They also do not understand that these are governments of the people, by the people and for the people. They understand even less that in these countries they truly have alternating political parties.

Fortunately for everyone — both North Americans and those who are not — dissident voices are already starting to be heard in the country — voices that do not share the arrogant ideological zeal of the majority.

Last year, for example, when President Obama was asked if he believes in North American exceptionalism, his answer was clear: “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”

Obama is familiar with the country’s history and its virtues. He appreciates the freedom and opportunities it offers its citizens and the immigrants who integrate themselves into the country. He recognizes his fellow countryman’s ability and ingenuity in generating wealth and he is conscious of the enormous economic and military power of the country. But he is also conscious of its limitations.

He understands, more than anything else, that the magnificent achievements of this country do not justify the arrogance of people such as Marco Rubio, who, because of their ignorance, feel superior to everyone else.

*Editor’s Note: The quote mentioned here could not be verified. For complete video of Marco Rubio’s acceptance speech, click here: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7222463-marco-rubio-acceptance-speech-gop-sanatorelect-from-florida