Reeder Rants and American Exceptionalism

March 25, 2017  
|  4 Comments
Categories: Op-Eds

If you’re not friends with or following our editorial staff and aritagraphers on social media, you’re missing out on some entertaining, acrasial diatribes that border on epic status. For instance, a Reeder Rant erupted on Facebook last night when one of his liberal friends posted a video clip of Mike Mulvaney, pissed and moaned about Trump, then said, “…I guess GOP’s modern Jesus is more concerned with propagating the absurd myth of American Exceptionalism. I mean, we did have a pretty exceptional Trail of Tears.”

As some of you who’ve followed us for a while can imagine, that set him off.

Oh and we did that on purpose earlier. Two words for you grunts: Acrasial and Artigraphers.

Here’s a copy-and-paste version of what he wrote last night in the wee hours of the morning. It’s since evidently been deleted. Mad Duo

Saturday Screeds: Reeder Rants and American Exceptionalism

David Reeder

Oh for fuck’s sake dude. Hate on Trump all you want, but WTF does that have to do with “American Exceptionalism” being an absurd myth?

WAIT – TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT NEED IT.

That was a moronic statement, and far beneath you. Let me explain how and why.

Setting aside all political correctness, and fully accepting some of the glaring errors this nation has made in its relatively short history, American Exceptionalism is far, far, from an absurd myth. It’s true all right, and no amount of handwringing apologist fuckery can make it go away.

We are the great experiment, and thus far it has been astonishingly successful.

You know me. I’m no slavering “My country my country right or wrong my country” idiot; I realize we’ve done some stupid shit and have some things to be ashamed of, but the negatives are vastly, vastly outweighed by the positives. You know why? Because American. Exceptionalism. I’ll happily show you people and places and things on a number of continents that aptly demonstrate the truth of American Exceptionalism as surely as the fact that you aren’t fucking floating off into space right this very second demonstrates the truth of gravity.

With all due respect, I have found the people mostly likely to criticize the notion of American Exceptionalism are almost always people who have never stepped foot outside the borders of the United States. Though they may think they comprehend what the notion means, few of them actually grasp it viscerally. That statement might sound condescending; it is not intended to be so. It’s just something I’ve observed.

Are you really going to be so absurd as to dismiss the staggering things we’ve done, as a society, to improve the whole fucking world because of the Trail of Tears? Do you think using phrases like “the GOP’s modern Jesus” and even indirectly associating the Trail of Tears to American Exceptionalism and Trump is going to do anything whatsoever to enjoin anyone who might not already agree with you, or might be undecided, to actually listen to what you have to say? Are you just ranting and complaining about everything, or do you actually want to have a conversation and/or try to effect change at any level?

That’s neither a rhetorical or disingenuous question.

 

I’m not sure what’s more irritating…people who make broad, sweeping, banal statements criticizing the “other side” while making ill-defined references that somehow contrive to relate things that are unrelated, or the people who make broad, sweeping, banal statements criticizing the “other side” while making ill-defined references that somehow contrive to relate things that are unrelated in response. (Note – that was one single sentence, Hernandez, ha ha ha you’re welcome – and by the way I took a screenshot to prove I did it!)

Here’s a hint to everyone – if you use hyperbole or borderline insulting language when you’re trying to make your point, you’re tuning out ANYONE who doesn’t already agree with you. The result of that is an echo chamber, which results in, among other things, the ever-worsening sort of polarity and stupidity we’ve seen in the last couple of election cycles.

As an example; I’m about as mixed a bag of politics as you will find if you define my beliefs strictly along party lines. I know you (meaning MY FRIEND here, not the vague ‘you reading this you’) to be an intelligent man who might have some valid perspective I have not thought of. Then I read the condescending language and realize you’re not interested in discussion, debate, or improvement, you’re just venting to people who will all to happily just yell “hear hear!” because they already think the same way anyway. What’s the point of that? Maybe that’s all you were after in the first place. But the (hopefully unintended) consequence of that is that people like me (but who don’t know you) would just go, “Oh, well, fuck that guy.”

Another consequence is that people like me (but who DO know you) are just as likely to go, “Oh, well, fuck that guy.” Then they have second thoughts because they DO know you, and they think WTF did he just say? Surely he’s not that condescending and myopic. THEN they wind up writing ten-paragraph diatribes when they should be finishing their article that’s already past deadline. So, now you’ve not only risked alienating them, you might have cost them their job!

Love or hate Obama or Trump or John Herschel fucking Glenn for that matter all you want, but I implore you and anyone else who *claims* to give a shit about politics and the no-shit betterment of society, talk about politics in such a way that you are not just furthering an echo chamber that has already proven to do exactly jack and shit for our society and our country.

A country that is, by the way, defined by the absolute, immutable, historically improbable but categorically undeniable results of American Exceptionalism – which is a real thing, my friend, whether it’s beneath you to believe or not. (Did it again Hernandez, and you can’t stop me.)

The preceding ridiculous 700-word harangue was made possible by lightweights who should not be allowed to drink Rye Whisky while on the Book of Face.

And now, I shall close out my unasked-for (and sadly self righteous) vituperation with music. This is music you MUST enjoy unless you are a pinko, cross-dressing, America-hating commie.

-Reeder

 

David Reeder

David Reeder

About the Author

4 Comments

  1. Michmike

    Hmmmm. I understand both sides and all I can say is yes as of late we have had many exceptional technical innovations but I am sorry to say we have not had exceptional leadership for a while. Neither republican or democrat as I include both of them because we have become so very polarized that I feel it will take an exceptional leader and a person that is of neither party really but a true visionary American! We have become a country that does not seem to respect science, facts or the common good but only what is good for themselves. Science and service for the common good were once something people aspired to but now science and I mean true science is seen as something that people mock and the common good through politics is seen as way to push a narrow agenda or a way of enriching ourselves. Common good no longer seems to exist in a world obsessed with fake news, fake science and popular culture with an emphasis on doing what is best for me and making the most money without regard to the condition of others. I feel there has to be a balance in a society and shared common goals and yes wealth and comfort are good and success in a chosen field is important but we cannot do it at the expense of society as a whole. The “fuck it as long as I get my money” is not exceptional it is reprehensible and not how I want to see a society where my daughter grows up. Is America perfect and and have we made mistakes, you bet we have, but we no longer it seems able to take a hard look at ourselves and our country and admit the faults as well as the virtues.

    The question was are we now exceptional and I say sadly not currently but we can be again i am unsure how to get there. We have a president who no one can deny is at best not up to the task and at worst… well I think you get the picture. I love the United States and do not want to live anywhere and democracy is a work in progress but I do not see us making progress. I see pettiness and ugliness and have all I can stand of both sides with the pushing of an agenda regardless of consequences. I wake up daily wondering what is being fucked up now and what decisions are now being made that go against the common good not to mention common sense. Changes need to be made and hard choices discussed but that is not happening as No one seems to want to compromise and they just want their way no matter the cost in lives or treasure. We are great innovators and inventors and I see the both the benefits and costs as there are few black and white issues but people only seem to want to address them as such and that is the problem. I guess looking at things in a binary way makes things easier for some but that is not a beneficial way to look at the world.

    GDP and technological innovation are not what makes a country great, it is what they stand for and how they treat their citizens even those they may not agree with. We seem to have lost civility but we can lead by example again by a positive example and we can be exceptional again…. I know it!

    Reply
  2. Dan

    Holy fucking shit that was well said, Dave… If you are ever in Charlotte let me buy you a drink.

    Reply
  3. strych9

    It is MHO that a lot of the most boisterous people on both sides are generally the most ignorant as well. This ignorance combined with a certain amount of zealotry tends to produce people who fall into the “apparent asshole” category.

    Note that I don’t say “stupid”, but rather ignorant and I say “apparent” when it comes to assholes.

    It is, once again just MHO here, that this is what produces the polarity in our society. Two groups of ignorant and angry people screaming at each other with neither side having a clue what the fuck they’re talking about causes the vast majority of people to become annoyed with both sides.

    However the truth though is this: The vast majority of the people in the middle are just as ignorant as the people on the poles. It’s just that the people in the middle don’t care as much about whatever topics are at hand as the folks out on the periphery do.

    I have believed since I was in high school and I continue to believe that one of the major roots of nearly every problem we have in this country is the school system which seems to willfully produce people who are completely ignorant of any topic of true value. They know little to nothing about science, math, history, economics, politics (in terms of international relations), English or much of anything else. They lack critical thinking skills AND they lack basic knowledge and are therefore not capable of thinking their way through an issue without resorting to emotions, logical fallacies and ad hominem attack. They similarly have never been taught how to properly research a topic and therefore easily fall prey to charlatans, hucksters and flat-out frauds.

    The result is a bunch of people who know basically nothing of value but have been told their entire life that they’ve been given all the information and skills they need. So, when they arrive at a conclusion (how they got there isn’t relevant) they have a personal stake in that position and, if that position is challenged, they take it personally.

    Reply
  4. Dave

    Exceptional.

    adjective

    1. forming an exception or rare instance; unusual; extraordinary:

    The warm weather was exceptional for January.

    Lets see if America meets the standard, focusing on a few historical events and miscellaneous statistics!

    Is America unusually prosperous? Our GDP and economic out put say yes, America has been economically exceptional for at least the last 150+ years or so. We’ve created an astounding amount of wealth, not just for this country, but the world.

    America has been, with a relatively select few other nations, at the forefront of technological development. Internet? American. GPS? American? Numerous, life saving medical technologies? American. Put a dude on the moon? America. Got pissed at Ferrari and developed a car to win the 24 hrs of Le Mans 3 straight years out of spite/vengeance? Yup, America again…because a man spending a fortune that exceeded the entire value of some world economies on a car is what that bit about economic exceptionalism allows you to do.

    Did we fight a bloody civil war? Sure, but that’s not exceptional. You might argue that our subsequent reconciliation and return to the rule of law was, however. Speaking of that – how many countries can you name that put together a government from scratch, opposed a great power, fought a revolution and then transitioned peacefully to the rule of law without turning on one another? Ask a Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Israeli, or any number of other citizens across the globe how unusual that is. Hell, ask a Frenchman. Everyone will tell you America is a young nation, and that’s fine. Ask them how old their government is in comparison in comparison. Darn it, exceptional again!

    Did America single handled prop up the war efforts of two other countries while building its own military essentially from scratch to fight and win against the most proficient and dynamic armed forces the world had seen to that point? Why yes, yes we did. Take a look through history and see how many examples of countries you can find that successfully fought a two front war spanning the entire planet while also supplying the war efforts of several other nations and forces simultaneously. You’ll be forced to admit that’s rather…well…exceptional.

    America is not perfect, certainly, but to argue that the single most successful and influential nation of the last 100+ years isn’t “exceptional” belies a misunderstanding of what that word means. To argue that the path America travelled from “back water colonies” in the late 1700s to reach a point in the 20th century where the fate of the entire planet was decided by her actions was not exceptional, again, demonstrates willful ignorance.

    My great-grand parents didn’t come here from Italy because America was “normal.” Numerous immigrants made their way to America, sometimes at great cost and with great risk, because America was exceptional – it represented an opportunity they couldn’t find at home, wherever that was, or anywhere else in the world.

    Americans should appreciate America’s trajectory through history. They should appreciate that our nation has been exceptional and should strive to remain so. The world doesn’t need more normalcy. It doesn’t need more mediocrity. It needs people willing to lead, innovate and improve. American should endeavor to remain the place foremost in people’s minds when they think about where to do those things.

    Reply

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