Exceptionalism; a pity that no one else understands its dangers.
Whether it is the city upon a hill or the realization that only little people pay taxes, each one of us knows, deep down in our heart, that we are a little bit better. Sure we may not be as rich or strong, but that is all circumstantial. Everything else being equal, there is a certain something that makes our county or our kid exceptional.
The concept of American exceptionalism has been well hashed out. What has been less thoroughly explored is the portrayal of exceptionalism in animated feature films. I am speaking, of course, of The Incredibles.
It is this sort of hero worship instilled throughout our lives that encourages our society to define itself through its greatest achievers, Charles Lindberg, George Patton and Barry Bonds. Of course it would be worse than futile to judge these heroes by the same rules that we apply to the lowly commoners. Because of the importance of their calling it is their duty, really, to carry out their designs; if a few toes get stepped on, it is small price to pay. But of course each of us believes that we are that exceptional individual, or at least could be, who is left to carry the water?
Why not judge the quality of our society by the norms rather than the exceptions. It would by definition be more relevant to most people.
