| This manuscript defines the American Exceptionalist ethos as the fundamental core concept behind American national identity. Seeking to explain how the narrative of exceptionalism has continually reproduced itself from the 1620s to the present, I examine how presidential rhetoric, religion, culture, technology, communication, media, television, and public schooling contribute to the legitimization of this narrative. Focusing primarily on the Cold War and the War on Terror, I argue that the 20th and 21st centuries have been marked by a continually increasing abuse of power by those in positions of privilege, representing a disintegration of the very values upon which America was founded. An analysis of the political unconscious of the nation is crucial for understanding how and why citizens continue to believe in the grand narrative of America, despite the fact that we as a nation have strayed far from the original idea of what it meant to be "American.". |
