Exceptional

This 762-page anthology of William Boardman’s recent political essays exposes the self-deception and evasion induced by American exceptionalism. The book addresses unpalatable American realities and argues that if the United States is to be trusted again as a reliable, constitutional democracy, it will have to find the collective courage to break through decades of denial and address an array of ugly truths about itself and its role on the world stage.

The book sets the stage with the observation that American Exceptionalism permeates US culture. Most Amer­icans were taught to believe in American superiority long before they were able to think for themselves. “America is the greatest country in the world.” But what is the measure of “greatness” for a country? Do genocide, slavery, racism, imperialism and endemic poverty count?

Each essay in EXEPTIONAL is a snapshot in time, when the author was reacting to the moment, whether it was an act of voter suppression, the start of an aggressive war, the police killing of another unarmed black person, or the failed humanity of so many of America’s “lead­ers.”

In its seven sections, the book documents:

• The erosion of voting rights.


• The criminalization of free speech. the rise of a police state, a Supreme Court that defends the interests of the rich and powerful with less and less integrity or shame, and other signs that the United States is “losing altitude.”


• The ill-treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers.


• Ongoing racism and physical attacks against Black Americans.


• War crimes perpetrated by current and past administrations.


• Policies dealing with climate change, nuclear weapons and nuclear power that put Americans and the rest of the world at cataclysmic risk.


• Some of the hundreds of impeachable offenses President Donald Trump has committed from the moment he took office on January 20, 2017.