MIT Video Productions: 'Howard Zinn at MIT 2005 - The Myth of American Exceptionalism'

Source:MIT Video Productions- author/historian Howard Zinn at MIT.

"Howard Zinn (1922-2010) offers a talk at MIT titled “The Myth of American Exceptionalism,” on March 14, 2005. He is the inaugural lecturer in the series “Myths About America” organized by MIT’s Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS), which is hosted at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He is introduced by Bish Sanyal, director of the SPURS/Hubert Humphrey Program. 

Howard Zinn is renowned as the author of “A People’s History of the United States” (1980). Historian, playwright and self-described democratic socialist, Zinn was chair of the history and social sciences department at Superman College, and political science professor at Boston University."

From MIT Video Productions

"Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is "exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the referent is superior in some way.

Although the idea appears to have developed with respect to an era, today it is particularly applied with respect to particular nations or regions.

Other uses of the term include medical and genetic exceptionalism." 

From Wikipedia

Howard Zinn said himself early in this lecture that America is not exceptional and implying that American exceptionalism is a myth. Well, if that's true, then America is not exceptionally good or bad, at least compared with any other country in the world. 

The definition of exceptionalism is, something that's exceptional, unusual, extraordinary. Those words are somewhat indifferent because they don't mean good or bad, they are just exceptional, unusual, or extraordinary. Someone or something, be exceptionally or unusually or extraordinary good or bad. You can have an exceptionally, or unusually, or  extraordinary bad car (or whatever the thing or person) or an exceptionally, or unusually, or extraordinary good car. 

The Far-Left, at least in America, (and Howard Zinn would be part of that faction) like to argue all the time that America is the real empire, Americans are the real terrorists, even during the Cold War, you had far-leftists in America arguing that America was the real evil empire, not Russia. But if you listen to Professor Zinn, America is not exceptionally good or bad, we're just like every other country. 

I'm not some hardcore American patriot, or some Nationalist, who really just loves his corner of the store, neck of the woods, his own people or tribe, etc, who claims to be an American patriot. But I do love America and think that America is not just a great country, but yes, the greatest country in the world. But for very good reasons. 

There's no country, that has produced more wealth and freedom, more individual rights and individualism, for more people, for more ethnic groups, for more races, for more men and women, for more religions, than America. 

Why do you think we have 10-15 illegal immigrants in America? The answer is very simple, because we have so many different people from different parts of the world, trying to come to America and in many cases don't want to or can't afford to await their turn to come to America and therefor immigrate to America illegally.And not just from the third world, but from Canada, Britain, Europe, Japan,, Korea, Middle East, etc.

You don't even see American far-leftists, trying to escape what they say us the evil empire and the real terrorist state in the world, (America, of course) and trying to get to Canada, Britain, Holland, or Scandinavia, even though all those countries speak English, at least as a 2nd language. And for very good reasons, because at least privately, they love America and don't even believe their own (to be frank) bullshit, but also because American far-leftists might be too crazy even for these social democracies. And that might even include the great Professor Howard Zinn. But what people say and believe publicly, doesn't always match up with what they say and believe privately.

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