Cross-posted at: New Era Politics
Bush’s most recent speech on the surge of troops in Iraq has given yet another look at the world view of George W. Bush. At a private meeting prior to the recent speech, Bush commented on his worldview to journalists Brian Williams and Tim Russert of NBC. He was basically telling the journalists that if they knew what he knew, they would have a different, more sobering view of the world. What is scary to me is not that Bush has this realist/neo-conservative worldview characterized by hegemonic status, power politics and zero-sum games, as this has been the crux of U.S. foreign policy for decades, Bush has simply escalated the notion of American exceptionalism to a violent level not seen before in U.S. history.
The notion that America is endowed by its creator for a higher purpose dates back to John Winthrop and a group of Puritans asking the question of whether they should remain a beacon on the hill or go out and spread the word. Later this notion is seen in the Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny. It was Woodrow Wilson who said that “America had the infinite privilege of fulfilling her destiny and saving the world.” Clinton had grand ideas of spreading liberal economic polices around the globe. Bush is merely acting as past presidents have but with a vengeance. While past presidents have used self-interested coercive measures to maintain power and police the world, the notion that America saves the world and spreads democracy through the barrel of a gun is a concept of neo-conservatives and the George W. Bush administration.
It is time for a new thinking though, one not characterized by hegemony and the power politics played to maintain that hegemony. A new thinking must be characterized by sustainability and global communities of conscience. We must reject the idea that we all are competing for a finite amount of resources. Zero-sum games in politics are for the most part false ideas. There should be no reason that we kill and destroy lives just to maintain access to oil and natural gas. There is no reason we should support murderous dictators simply because they are advantageous to supposed U.S. interests. There is no reason we should support policies that harm other people while providing us with an advantage. While we must reject the militaristic policies of George W. Bush, we must also reject America’s parasitic coercive foreign policies objectives acted upon by past and present administrations. There is no need to reject the idea of American exceptionalism, so far as it is about spreading universal values, human rights, democracy and so on. American exceptionalism coupled with conservative thought, arrogance, military might, and lack of consideration for others must be rejected though if we are to ever witness a world at peace.
