American Exceptionalism and American Innocence

A People's History of Fake News - From The Revolutionary War to The War on Terror

De: Roberto Sirvent, Danny Haiphong, Ajamu Baraka - foreword, Glen Ford - afterword

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon

Did the U.S. really “save the world” in World War II? Should black athletes stop protesting and show more gratitude for what America has done for them? Are wars fought to spread freedom and democracy? Or is this all fake news?

American Exceptionalism and American Innocence examines the stories we’re told that lead us to think that the U.S. is a force for good in the world, regardless of slavery, the genocide of indigenous people, and the more than a century’s worth of imperialist war that the U.S. has wrought on the planet.

Roberto Sirvent and Danny Haiphong detail just what Captain America’s shield tells us about the pretensions of U.S. foreign policy, how Angelina Jolie and Bill Gates engage in humanitarian imperialism, and why the Broadway musical Hamilton is a monument to white supremacy.

©2019 Roberto Sirvent and Danny Haiphong. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Foreword © 2019 by Ajamu Baraka. Afterword © 2019 by Glen Ford.

Thought Provoking Perspective on America

At the crux of this book, the author points out the many fallacies associated with the perception that America is a beacon of hope and a force of goodwill for all countries to follow. Simply put, America doesn’t practice the values and democratic views externally through its foreign involvement, internally. The very foundation of America was of exploitation to promote the expansion of American capitalism. It’s always been a matter of protecting and expanding the system. Any perceived threat to it, has and still is moved to be eliminated.

Eye opening

What a fantastic eye opening piece of work. It was just simply amazing! Would highly recommend

Still processing

Challenges everything, however; you're left with the question of whether a permanent change in the situation is possible because of the impossibility of the total system change that is called for in the book. Capitalism isn't the end of history but there should be some care in how to dismantle it. Understanding that the uniquely United States form and it's barbarism is so closely tied with it founding in slavery comes with a new understanding when the role of inherited wealth is explained. When you understand that the bigotry and violence is from the favored group in this country to every other group, you see how concentrated power amongst people with a shared identity is an idea that is unhealthy for the species survival. Any form of government that wishes to sustain itself as a gift to all mankind will have to focus on removing or checking the unhealthy urge that drives our species death instinct. This seems to be much simpler than philosophers have made it, as it is the want to push others beneath us or the singular ego. You see this destructive urge so strong that it destroys all from top to bottom. Might be a bit over simplified, as this is only my first read. The book has thrown many of my previous thoughts into question.

You’re not going to like it.

And that’s exactly the point. If you start to listen to this book and you begin to feel offended by the notions put forth by these authors, then you’re in the group of people who needs to hear this message the most. If you decide that the contents of this book are too offensive to your sensibilities, I implore you to continue listening. I did not particularly enjoy this book myself. I even wanted to give up on it a few times, but I’m glad I didn’t because each time after some contemplation and a nights sleep I found myself in agreement with many of the sentiments expressed in these pages. Having said that, I’d recommend this book to anyone!

BEFORE I RE-READ AMERICAN HISTORY, I COULD NOT FINISH American Exceptionalism and American Innocence. But once I had…

Every single piece of American Exceptionalism and American Innocence read like the best non-fiction Julius Caesar and the Fall of THE EMPIRE that you could ever want to hear read out loud! One example, all those years of meticulously tracing maps of whatever state or National we were studying and finding pictures of its major exports I can definitely picture all the maps in Daniel Immerwahr’s HowToHideAnEmpire with 4 symbols in 2025..a flag, a military robo-cop, assorted automatic guns and rifles, and (OF COURSE!) surface-to-air ballistic nuclear weapons. No guarantee what your “ride” Will be like, but I highly recommend the journey!