The Eternal City versus Shining City on a Hill

American Exceptionalism: We are exceptional, the ordinary rules do not apply to us. We are a shining city on a hill, a light unto the world. Out of the many that we are, we add up to one unit, one big GOOD. And at this unipolar moment we have never tasted defeat. Even Vietnam had been exorcised of its demons by Gulf War I, the new moral authority of 9-11, the extraordinary success in Afghanistan, and Iraq's mission-accomplished moment. Now, contemplate for a moment how the rhetoric of American politics never allows talk of defeat for this young nation, this baby of a state. The sacred agony of the Civil War, the WWII American heroes. Today, the insistence we will win in Iraq, that can-do positive American attitude so unlike old Europe. Yeah, old Europe...they're the ones that have tasted defeat, Bonaparte, et al....not us, US, U.S. But maybe we are afraid of defeat, not sure our adolescent national character can stand it. Maybe our hyper-muscular approach to 9-11 betrays a fear of failure. If we are so strong, why are we not able to accept a small defeat when it is staring us in the face but insist on compounding it, digging in deeper, letting the wound become bigger each day. Compare the shining city on a hill to Rome, the Eternal City. Walk through the Roman Forum where the temple of one god has been built on another, where the foundation of one administration building has been built upon the 1000-year-old ruins of another. Old Europe! Stretch out your American imagination over a longer period of time and breath in the air of one small defeat. Kick the dust off your sandals, stand up, and walk on. You'll survive. You really are strong. It's OK. It's natural. You're just growing up. And that's not easy.