In 2011, longtime Republican Mike Lofgren asserted that the modern Republican Party is “becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe.”

In this book, Mugambi Jouet looks at the radicalization of American Conservatism and what it has wrought. In looking at the notion of American exceptionalism, he examines traditional American ideals and tries to get to the core of why Americans are so polarized on nearly every major issue. His thesis boils it down to four major aspects of America, all of which resulted from its peculiar founding: anti-intellectualism, anti-governmentalism, racial resentment, and fervent Christian fundamentalism (a literal belief in the Bible). Jouet asserts that these four Horseman of the Apocalypse (my words, not his) are the cornerstones of modern American conservatism, and they succeed in making America an outlier among its contemporary industrialized Western nations. In a book that is very wide-ranging and broad in scope, Jouet attempts to explain the roots of these four issues.

Jouet makes a convincing case, as he examines various aspects of America’s history that contributed to its modern condition. For example, he argues that anti-intellectualism is rooted in disdain for elites that came from colonists’ suspicion of the European aristocracy. The development of extreme Christian fundamentalism has to do with America’s foundation of religious freedom and the fact that, unlike Europe, America never had a church that was entangled with its political affairs, which meant that religion flourished free from suspicion. This type of fundamentalism has led actual members of Congress, like Senator James Inhofe, to say things ludicrous like “God controls the climate”. Jouet also traces various historical events that contributed to America’s current status. For example, he reminds us that the South had always been staunchly Democratic – until Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which spurred racial animosity. He ties various aspects of his thesis together and demonstrates how they all work in tandem and contribute to one another.

I really enjoyed Jouet’s discussion of American anti-intellectualism, which I don’t think receives enough attention. He states, “Millions of citizens are unable or unwilling to accept simple facts. Naked propaganda has been normalized.” Indeed. Jouet goes on to explore the varying degrees of cognitive dissonance present among the American public that causes its citizens to staunchly deny bald-faced truths in direct opposition to facts. He ties this to the results of the 2016 election and says: “The emergence of fake news should not eclipse the broader disinformation that started well before the 2016 election and that is partly rooted in America’s subculture of anti-intellectualism.” In all the furor over Russia’s interference, this is an important point that is often forgotten.

Jouet of course also spends some time on Americans’ belief in their own exceptionalism, as per the title of the book. It’s well known that Americans believe they are the best country in the world, but Jouet stresses that unlike other nations, Americans are more likely to believe that their greatness is preordained and bestowed upon them by God. This fervent belief in God and religious destiny makes it nearly impossible to effect change in America. How can you argue for changing a constitution (the oldest written constitution in the world, by the way) when most of the population believes it was sent by God? Most Americans truly believe that they alone in the entire world are a voice of goodness and freedom, and rampant anti-intellectualism makes them willfully blind to facts that contradict this. Not to mention that “American exceptionalism” as a concept never meant to convey America’s unique greatness – only that America is a nation that was founded and operated in a unique manner.

Jouet also makes an excellent point about America’s outdated institutions, which greatly influence how the country is run. He argues that things like federalism, Senate filibusters, the separation of powers, and the Electoral College all make it incredibly difficult for America to function by simple majority rule like other Western democracies. But, going back to the point about Christian fundamentalism, it’s nearly impossible to convince people to change these institutions when they truly believe they were created by God. It’s a vicious cycle, and a depressing one, since it doesn’t seem to present any solution to our problems beyond waiting for conservative white folks to die off.

This is the first book I’ve read about American social history that has been published after the 2016 election. It was interesting to see Jouet make connections between America’s roots and Trump’s nativist, populist platform. It was also quite depressing to be reminded of all the crap conservatives threw at Obama during his years as President. I’d forgotten all the wild and bizarre theories they’d leveled at him, like that he was the anti-Christ, or a socialist hell-bent on destroying America. Trump has completely overshadowed all of it, but it’s sobering to see all of it collected here. It reminds me that Trump is not an outlier, but a natural progression of the Republican Party.

This book was somewhat repetitious, constantly repeating similar ideas, but I suppose that succeeded in hammering in its thesis. Jouet also takes great pains to be as objective as possible, but these efforts to forestall potential critics of his argument means his thesis is not as hard-hitting as it could be. I suppose he’s trying to be as palatable as he can, but sometimes I really just want to read a book that is truly blunt in its criticism of America, a nation which is not great and never, ever was (though of course there are admirable aspects to it, just like any other country).

Overall, I’d say this book is an interesting read that succeeds in bringing together and articulating what many people already recognize about America’s problematic past (and present). It’s a book with a ton of great information for those unfamiliar with these issues. If you, like me, are seasoned readers of American political and social history (and current events), you won’t get much new information out of this, but you will get a new way of thinking about that information. It it is very satisfying to see the roots of America’s many issues summed up so neatly. This book has definitely succeeded in helping me organize my thoughts on these issues and articulate them concisely.

EXCEPTIONAL AMERICA is written by Mugambi Jouet who teaches at Stanford Law School. In the description for this book, the publisher (University of California Press), notes that "Anti-intellectualism, conspiracy-mongering, a visceral suspicion of government, and Christian fundamentalism are far more common in America than the rest of the Western world—Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand." It honestly was a surprise at first to see America described in such anti-intellectual terms relative to other countries, but then I realized how aptly that descriptor fit with recent calls and emails about the need to preserve library funding due to current budget cut proposals. Jouet explores the growing radicalization of conservative America and what divides us from each other. This , too, fits with the news: note, for example, the demonstrations being called for the six month anniversary of the election and a Wall Street Journal article ("When the CEO Met the CEO President") quoting a business leader who says, "if we don't do something fundamentally different soon, we are going to have class warfare, and that’s a scary thing."

In the extensively researched and footnoted EXCEPTIONAL AMERICA, Jouet includes a quote from Tocqueville describing Americans as having "a grasp of public affairs, a knowledge of laws and precedents ... and an ability to understand them [which] is greater there than in any other place on earth." Jouet then questions whether this is still true, saying, "in vast segments of modern America, its people are arguably the least informed of all Westerners and the likeliest to ignore the greater good." Even if they only spend time on a relatively short excerpt, this book will prompt some critical thinking and great discussions for our students.

Links in the live post:
http://news.stanford.edu/2017/04/03/expert-examines-roots-americas-divide/
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/fight-for-libraries
http://learn.cengage.com/GWP17213297
https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-the-ceo-met-the-ceo-president-1494019699