The Real News: Debunking the Myth of American Exceptionalism, with David Swanson

Anti-war writer and activist David Swanson discusses his new book Curing Exceptionalism, and picks apart the chauvinistic idea that the United States of America is the greatest country on the planet.

4 Responses

  1. David leaves some important truths out of the book. In discussing the Evian Conference (pp98-104), he repeats the trope that Franklin Roosevelt “chose not to make the necessary efforts to aid Jewish refugees, before, during, or after the conference.” On page 29 of “Against Our Better Judgement,” Alison Weir debunked that claim, “When FDR made efforts in 1938, 1943, and the British in 1947, to provide havens for refugees from the Nazis, Zionists opposed these projects because they did not include Palestine.” She backs that thoroughly in the footnotes, citing John W. Mulhall, CSP, and Alfred Lilienthal. Notably, the Zionists who opposed Bernard Baruch’s 1938 proposal included Brandeis and Frankfurter.

    I realize David’s subject matter is American Exceptionalism, and brevity is important to capture a larger audience. It’s important to correct our own faults rather than point fingers at others, so perhaps he should not be expected to pull a more general discussion of being “chosen” by God, and the similarities between the US and Israel into the discussion, but I have a responsibility to correct misinformation.

  2. Hello, David..
    Interested to know if you received a reply from Bill Rood regarding efforts for refugees in 1938 and 1943..
    Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Our Theory of Change

How To End War

2024 WBW Film Festival
Antiwar Events
Help Us Grow

Small Donors Keep Us Going

If you select to make a recurring contribution of at least $15 per month, you may select a thank-you gift. We thank our recurring donors on our website.

This is your chance to reimagine a world beyond war
WBW Shop
Translate To Any Language