The more political chaos and societal division widen, the more the notion of exceptionalism will be exposed as bizarre, selfish, and unsustainable.
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Patriotism is the organising passion of modern political life in the United States yet its vitality defies obvious explanation. The country has no national education system. There’s neither compulsory military nor civil service. No government agency distributes the ubiquitous US flags, nor enforces observance of the rituals to country performed at schools and sporting and political events throughout the country.
The American political system and its two main parties are in the deepest legitimacy crisis in their history. There is a struggle being waged for the soul of the nation, for the very identity of America. And it has polarised opinion. Not for nothing do some refer to the situation in America today as a ‘peaceful’ civil war. Unless something changes very radically, the United States is in for a prolonged period of civil strife and political violence.
