Bette Midler: ‘American Exceptionalism Is Such Bulls**t’

Actress Bette Midler, whose estimated net worth exceeds $200 million, has trashed the idea of American exceptionalism, calling it “bullshit” and saying the U.S. is exceptional in terms of coronavirus deaths and mass shootings.

Bette Midler tweeted her disgust for America exceptionalism on Thursday in response to the recent mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta.

“American exceptionalism is such bullshit,” Midler wrote. “Yeah, exceptional in Coronavirus deaths, and exceptional in mass shootings. No country on earth has the kind of mass shootings we do. We are held hostage by the worst of the worst, and are too cowardly to stand up to them.”

Earlier this week, Midler called for universal background checks for gun purchases.

American exceptionalism is the widely held notion that the United States stands unique in the world for the freedoms and economic opportunities it provides its citizens. The notion, which dates back to the 19th century, also encompasses the belief that the U.S. has generally been a force of good in the world.

But left-wing politicians, journalists, and cultural figures are increasingly claiming American exceptionalism  is a myth and the U.S. is a fundamentally racist country.

As Breitbart News reported, Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University, delivered a sermon in January at the National Cathedral claiming that American exceptionalism is actually the worship of white supremacy.

NPR recently broadcast an interview titled “The Myth of American Exceptionalism,” with New York Times journalist and 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones.

In the interview, Hannah-Jones dispelled the idea that the U.S. is exceptional. “We have a long history of violence around elections, of trying to subvert the democratic will of multiracial communities in a multiracial country,” she said.

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