I like to believe most people like me sometimes have this idea that they are unique (which we individually are), that they thrive or succeed in at least one thing more than their peers. Or it could be having a prominent feature or aesthetic which allows them to stand out from almost every other person they come across.
In a world dominated by the United States, it is inevitable to hear the phrase ‘American Exceptionalism’ in everyday life. The concept that today's America is predestined for greatness and in everything it sets out to do, it will succeed. You have to admit that this has seemed quite accurate on the face of it, especially when we go by how influential American culture and values have become all over the globe.
What a lot of people fail to realise is that American exceptionalism is ultimately a product of public relations. American exceptionalism exists simply as a concept that the United States pushes as a form of leverage wherever it can, but that has always come at a cost for people on the other side of American interest; If America needs to sell guns to Saudi Arabia, the civilians in Yemen who get bombed and shot are the victims in this transaction.
Nothing would be out of place in all of this if this claim of exceptionalism wasn’t seemingly backed by a claim to higher morality and the idea of pursuing the greater good.
Now, I doubt I would find myself trying to put together a 750-word article if the United States had presented itself as an entity without morality while pursuing its obvious interests throughout the world, but that has not been the case. Since their intervention in the Second World War, America tends to present itself as the morally upstanding protagonist. This behaviour has gone further in the way America is presented in the news and other media. Brilliant Ads, but that is not the case once closer scrutiny is imposed on the narrative throughout the decades since that fateful entry into the Second World War.
Exceptionalism is problematic. It tends to bestow, unduly a form of privilege upon those who identify or are closely attached to the ideology behind it, often creating a new class of individuals who end up distorting the concept of morality and justice. The Nazis considered their race exceptional, and in some way, they were able to justify the Holocaust. European and later American Christians considered themselves saved through Christ but went on to justify slavery against black Africans. It goes on and on.
We need to be reminded that as much as we are unique, we must know that ideologies do not make us exceptional to the point of considering others less human than us. We should never see the privilege we sense we have as some form of excuse to treat others like they are undeserving of fairness or equality. This tendency is not only restricted to white people. Black people who have embraced Islam and Christianity exude this habit blatantly, carrying their creeds and dogma boldly while condemning those who follow other beliefs and faiths. Deeming people who claim other faiths unworthy and ascribe any kind of misfortune they suffer to their unbelief.
Nigerians tend to move around in the diaspora parroting some sense of superiority amongst other black people as well. In as much as statistics and data show the trend of Nigerians to seek excellence, this should never be the reason to belittle other black people. It should never be the reason to categorise and stereotype other people of African origins as inferior or less smart.
Being able to stand out in anything is a privilege. Even in faith, as you walk in it, as you hold on to it, the fact that you can take a moment to look around and feel you have been blessed, never forget that fate could have been different for you as well. We are not that special. I believe that at any moment we feel exceptional it should also be a moment for us to recognise our humanity and vulnerability. To understand that what you have is not a privilege, but an opportunity to affect those around you who cannot, that just as much as you have it right now, it can all be gone in a flash.
I can’t help but think of what is happening all around the world in places like Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Congo. War is such an ugly and evil thing, and the people who suffer the most are innocent children and women. I never imagined I would see so many pictures and videos of dead children in my lifetime, but that’s what social media does, it has fully shortened the space between the incidents on the ground and our eyes. Now we can see the horrors almost in real time, unedited.
My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and most especially to those who are fighting to stay alive. No matter what the circumstance, your life does matter.
It is in moments like these I listen to songs from The Cranberries.
Take care, and love yourself.