By Chakamwe Chakamwe

WHEN the former American president, George W. Bush was asked why they had invaded Iraq without a United Nation (UN) mandate, his reply was along the following lines: “We are the United States of America.
“We are exceptional.”
George Bush’s predecessors, Richard Nixon, J.F. Kennedy etc when asked why the United States were involved in Vietnam, a country they had no historical connections and were killing thousands of innocent people, their short answer was, “We are the United States of America.
“We are exceptional.”
The present United States President, Barrack Obama, has referred to America being exceptional on a number of occasions.
In April 2009, Barrack Obama responded to a journalist’s question in Strasbourg with the statement, “I believe in American exceptionalism…”
Americans justify the use of lethal unnamed drones that are killing hundreds of innocent civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere on America being ‘exceptional’.
Poor Zimbabwe has asked the following to the Americans: “Why have you passed illegal sanctions on us?
“Why did you freeze the Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company’s US$5 million under your illegal law against Zimbabwe called ZDERA?
“Why did you make these Zimbabwe companies, IDC and Minerals marketing Corp lose US$20 million and US$30 million respectively to your office of Foreign Assets control?”
The answer to all these questions has been the arrogant one, “We are the United States of America.
“And we are exceptional.”
The question that most people are asking is this: “What the hell is this American exceptionalism which is causing suffering across the world?”
American exceptionalism is the philosophy or theory which in short says that the United States of America is superior to any nation on earth and its presidents and peoples are superior to any other presidents in the world.
In other words the United States government and its presidents cannot be held accountable at all by anyone on this earth for committing any sins, however terrible, against any nation.
The United States government and president are totally immune from being brought to justice by any other nation or peoples including the UN.
The United States is above international law.
The rest of the world should take the United States government as being up there with the gods.
They are special.
They are beyond reproach.
They are exceptional.
The United States did not invent this theory.
They inherited it from British kings and Roman emperors.
Below we look at English kings’ philosophy of ‘divine right’ and it is interesting to see how that philosophy of ‘divine right’ resembles the United States philosophy of exceptionalism.
And into the picture comes King James VI and I.
Listen to what he said once when he spoke to parliament on March 21 1609.
“The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth…
“Kings are justly called Gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth.
“For if you will consider the attributes to God you shall see how they agree in the person of a king.
“God has power to create or destroy, make or unmake at his pleasure, to give life or send death, to judge all and to be accountable to none, to raise low things and to make high things at his pleasure and to God are both soul and body due.”
There is no difference whatsoever between this speech on the ‘divine right’ of Kings by James and any speech made by a United States president on America’s role in the rest of the world as well as their understanding of American exceptionalism.
The other source of American exceptionalism comes from the Roman Empire and in particular its very first emperor, Augustus Caesar.
Augustus Caesar was the adopted son of the great Julius Caesar the renowned Roman general and conqueror.
When Julius Caesar died, he was later deified.
And Augustus being Julius Caesar’s son became ‘Divi Filius’ which translates to say son of God.
From then on, Rome and the Roman Empire became exceptional.
They were ruled by a god.
And Augustus became exceptional.
He was both God and man and who would dare question him?
One of the philosophies that Augustus Caesar gave to American exceptionalism was that, ‘you can institute a regime that is on the whole less free, less democratic, more tyrannical … and still be hailed eternally as the author of a golden age’.
The former United States President Thomas Jefferson while he had led a terrible regime still practising slavery, borrowed Augustus Caesar’s above teaching by saying that slavery riddled America was not bad at all.
It was exceptional.
It was the beacon of the world.
“America was the only monument of human rights, and the sole depository of the sacred fire of freedom … from hence it is to be lighted up in other regions of the earth, if other regions of the earth shall ever become susceptible of its benign influence.”
He was believed.
Today elites in the United States have joined in the above exceptionalism gospel by saying: ‘to this day the United States remains the only superpower capable and at times willing to commit real resources and makes real sacrifices to build, sustain and drive an international system to international law, democracy and human rights’.
All the drone killings and massacres of innocent civilians are swept under the carpet because America is exceptional.
Today like Augustus Caesar’s Roman currency, which was the major currency of the Roman Empire, the United States dollar is the major currency of the world promoting American exceptionalism.
And the United States, like Caesar, are prepared to use force to ensure the United States dollar remains the world’s money. Will American exceptionalism end?
Of course it will, just like Roman and English exceptionalism ended.