Funferal

Globalization and American Exceptionalism

Report on a talk by Andy Rojecki, University of Illinois assistant communication professor, by funferal guest columnist Sabryna Cornish.
Can globalization infiltrate the world as envisioned by some scholars if America is included in the formula? The answer seems to be no if the country continues in its present course. Rojecki considers not the theoretical constructs of globalization, but rather the cognitive foundations to provide a framework for examining globalization. “The cognitive dimension is important because so few of us experience the event directly.”

Although one might not experience a culture directly, through other means he or she might have a moment of revelation about another part of the world. Giddens refers to these moments as “time/space distanciation,” or periodic episodes of awareness. But are these periodic episodes enough to provide a cultural and sociological jump-start to awareness and understanding? In order to examine this, Rojecki asks what do people rely on to understand globalization? Certainly the media is responsible for a large part of how Americans view the rest of the world, but it cannot be blamed solely for the ideological formations of global thought that occur.
Rojecki believes that the morality of Americans will block any chance that the U.S. has to be a part of the globalization process. “Intrinsic American values are stymieing globalization. The U.S. regards itself in a morally lofty way.” It is pertinent then to ask how do we balance idealism and self-interest? American exceptionalism needs to be replaced by some other moral and ideological stance. In the current state of affairs, Americans believe that “we’re unique compared to other nation states.”
Rojecki found evidence of American exceptionalism in the media. He used content analysis to determine how the media portrayed two different global events – the killings in Rwanda and Somalia. Determining how these situations were portrayed in major media outlets, such as the New York Times, an American based daily newspaper that serves as a national record and provides international coverage, provides a framework for the way American public opinion is formulated. The results of his study found evidence of American exceptionalism. In Rwanda, where millions of people died, the U.S. paid little attention to the situation, sending in troops after the genocide was well underway. “There were no vital American interests, according to the White House,” Rojecki said. In fact, during the 1990s, very little foreign news affected Americans. “Foreign policy issues aroused little public concern — there was hardly a ripple on our conscious.”
America has been less supportive of helping other countries, Rojecki said, perhaps because “reason and religion live very comfortably in our political culture.” This statement, in my opinion, is all too true. Not only do the two make strange bedfellows, but they are two entities that never should have gotten together in the first place. This country was founded on the idea that state and religion would not intermarry. And yet, I am frightened by what I see today. George W. Bush is talking about introducing an amendment to basically define marriage as to what the Bible says it should be “an institution between a man and a woman.” The religious right is politically connected while the left is quite unorganized (although I am beginning to see inklings of an organization that could occur given the correct leadership).
Rojecki says that Americans are in their “cosmopolitan” phase and I agree. This is the idea that we are convening on a single space, but we need to broaden our view of the community we belong to, expanding it into a global community. Rojecki is hopeful that with the right political action and changes in media coverage that reason and logic will begin from the point of view of others. He is hoping for a move toward what he calls banal nationalism. “In so many little ways, the citizenry are daily reminded of their national place in a world of nations.” If we continue on the same track we are on, it is unlikely globalization from an American perspective will occur soon.