Is America Really The Greatest Show On Earth?

From the American world map (below) one might assume they are the ONLY show on Earth.

Click here to see the poster I made the above illustration from. One could argue that this was the greatest show on earth.

Map makers from other countries would beg to differ.

Above are maps of the world from several countries.

By Hal Brown

We hear a lot about American exceptionalism, mostly from Republicans. Wikipedia defines this as:

American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations.  

Proponents argue that the values, political system, and historical development of the U.S. are unique in human history, often with the implication that it is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage.

Critics of the concept claim that the idea of American exceptionalism suggests that the US is better than other countries, has a superior culture, or has a unique mission to transform the planet and its inhabitants. 

I've written about Trump being a malignant narcissist. 

For example this web search turns up these among other blogs I wrote explaining why I considered Donald Trump to meet the criteria for being a malignant narcissist:

Two decades before John Gartner, writing about Trump, made us aware of what a malignant narcissist was the term was used on the TV show Luther

Nobody knows for certain how Trump feels except Trump

Dr. Justin Frank, author of "Trump on the Couch" gives us understatement of the decade about Trump's behavior

 Some election day psychology: A primer on narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders

Once upon a time shrinks like me warned about Trump's malignant narcissism

I think there's also a phenomena which could be accurately called American malignant narcissism. The crucial word here is "malignant" meaning malevolent. This goes far beyond patriotism and taking pride in what's good about the United States both historically and in the present. 

My impression (from watching international movies and TV) is that people in many countries to varying degrees think their countries are better than other countries.  By and large I see this as healthy narcissism, i.e.,  a positive sense of country similar to having a self-image that is in alignment with the greater good.

It's hard to imagine what those who live in democracies around the world think of the United States, especially those who live in coutries with a strong social safety net where it is a given that tax money should be spent to assure that the less fortunate are adequately taken care of.

We have the front runner in the GOP primary poised to either go to prison or the presidency running against a state governor who doesn't believe in having his state teach the truth in its schools, wants books banned, and thinks slavery taught slaves useful skills, and a rich guy hogging much of the news coverage of the Republican primary who never held a government position who has his own 10 Commandments:

• 1. God is real.
• 2. There are two genders.
• 3. Human flourishing requires fossil fuels.
• 4. Reverse racism is racism.
• 5. An open border is no border.
• 6. Parents determine the education of their children.
• 7. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind.
• 8. Capitalism lifts people up from poverty.
• 9. There are three branches of the U.S. government, not four.
• 10. The U.S. Constitution is the strongest guarantor of freedoms in history.

Then we have today's American news as covered by Aljazeera and the BBC (click images to go to articles):

Trump's mantra, Make America Great Again, and his raging against so-called globalists (currently attacking everyone as globalists at Fox News), I thinks are being read by our allies as giving them a metaphorical finger.

...

No doubt Putin's pleased with this. Consider what the defintion of a globalism is:

Globalism refers to various patterns of meaning beyond the merely international. It is used by political scientists, such as Joseph Nye, to describe "attempts to understand all the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns that underlie (and explain) them."  

While primarily associated with world-systems, it can be used to describe other global trends. The concept of globalism is also classically used to distinguish the ideologies of globalization (the subjective meanings) from the processes of globalization (the objective practices).In this sense, globalism is to globalization what nationalism is to nationality.

The term is now frequently used as a pejorative by far right movements and conspiracy theorists. False usage in this way has also been associated with antisemitism, as antisemites frequently appropriate the term globalist to refer to Jews. More from Wikpedia.

Make America great again? 

How about doing something about the fact that after car accidents guns are the next leading cause of death among children? How about addressing the rising suicide rate among children even as young as five? Mass shootings, often using assault rifles, have become weekly, if not daily events, but any efforts to enact gun control laws are dead on arrival in Congress.

Why don't anti-abortion zealots consider our infant mortality rates and look at why more infants die in southern states than in northern states, and that the infant death rates are higher among minorities? (Reference)

Just now being reported on MSNBC: We have a half million people in jail waiting trial, mostly Blacks and brown men, because they can't afford bail, often as low as $500.

Consider where the United States ranks among nations for the number of people who are homeless (interactive map).

Quote: While it is considered the leader of the world stage, the United States still has one of the biggest problems with homelessness, even when compared to more impoverished countries. With a homeless population per night of over half a million souls, the numbers are concerning. The volume of homeless increases every year - with many more living in makeshift tents and other dwellings that do little more than offer some brief respite from the harsh outdoor conditions, such as at nighttime or during the winter.

If anybody thought that United States could never outdo the KKK as an influential and dangerous social movement they didn't consider QAnon.

Various congressional districts have actually elected people who believe in the paranoid delusions espoused by QAnon.