Opinion: US’ Sense of Exceptionalism Fuels Inaction
By Sanjoli Gupta
The US is seen as the land of immigrants, the land of refuge, for those fleeing from conflict or persecution, a safe haven for all those willing to come to this ‘blessed’ land. Even at the nation’s conception, the incoming British, French and Spanish settlers were not natives of the land; rather, they were Catholics seeking religious freedom, convicts sent to Maryland or Virginia to start a new life because England's prisons were overrun, or poor coming as indentured servants looking to eventually own their own land (Salmon 2020). Today, more than one million immigrants enter the country with the most people coming from China, India, Mexico and The Philippines (Budiman 2020).
In a country of immigrants, it is difficult for us to think it possible that we could ever become emigrants. However, climate change has already caused significant migration throughout the States and its impact continues to grow. Because of the United States’ sense of exceptionalism, it is tough to come to terms with the fact that climate migration can cause such an impact and easy to fall into ignorance. When the country was expanding from the east coast to the west through the Mexican American war, the ideology of ‘Manifest Destiny’ became ingrained in the country’s mindset and new artwork that admired and revered the American landscape for its rugged and everlasting beauty was introduced. The supposed invincibility of the United States makes some Americans willfully ignorant and all Americans vulnerable to the risk of climate change and climate migration. Acknowledging these risks is imperative for us to address the growing impacts of the issue and preserve the American landscape.
It’s easy to think that the United States doesn’t have forced climate migration, or that the US will always be a haven of safety. Unfortunately, dangerous thinking like this, which ignores the incoming patterns of climate migration and denies climate change, sets the country up for failure when it comes to protecting and serving future generations. It is time to overcome our willful ignorance and look the issue in the eye. Ignoring climate change will not stop the wildfires or the hurricanes or the heat waves or the mass displacement that is to come. Our lives and the world as we know it will burn if this inaction continues. Climate migration is an often-overlooked issue threatening our future and we need to prepare for it today.
Works Cited:
Salmon, Emily Jones. “Convict Labor during the Colonial Period.” Encyclopedia Virginia, 14 Dec. 2020, encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/convict-labor-during-the-colonial-period/#:~:text=Eighty%20percent%20of%20transported%20convicts,half%2C%20or%20about%2020%2C000%20felons.
Budiman, Abby. “Key Findings about U.S. Immigrants.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 20 Aug. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/#:~:text=More%20than%201%20million%20immigrants,and%20the%20Philippines%20(46%2C000).
