If we assume that humans are the same and easily manipulated, then that makes our population no different from the Russians or Chinese who are manipulated by nationalism and patriotism.
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Of course our population is no different from the Russians or the Chinese. What in the world would make you think otherwise?
[quote=FlyerInHi]
What about American Exceptionalism? When politicians say they “trust the American people”, they imply that the American character is superior and the decisions we take result in good outcomes.[/quote]
American exceptionalism isn’t about our people; it’s about our system of government and about what we’ve achieved and about our (certainly spotted, but generally progressive) history of benevolence towards the rest of the world. Certainly you’re not letting what some politician is selling affect your opinion on this, are you?
That you think American exceptionalism is about our people says something, I think, about you. That you think American people are somehow different from Russians or Chinese says something about you. Susceptibility to manipulation is a basic human trait. To think that Americans would somehow be less susceptible to it than Russians or Chinese is arrogant, hubristic, and xenophobic. And those are the nicer words to describe it.
