The figure of Elvis, the king of rock and roll, the scenes of famous blockbuster productions, McDonalds and Coca Cola, the fashion presentations in New York or Los Angeles, the Super Bowl, all these are symbols of the American culture and a means through which the U.S. is manifesting its Americanism.
On the other side, there is the notion of Americanism as a means of politically controlling the war. The most recent manifestation of this was the 2003 war in Iraq that was often justified through three components, as Francis Fukuyama suggests, "the Bush Administration based its arguments for the war in Iraq on three elements: firstly, this country had weapons of mass destruction and it was about to build many more; secondly, this country had ties with the Al Qaeda terrorist network; thirdly, Iraq was yet another dictatorial tyranny and its people disserved to be rescued from under its yoke" (Fukuyama, 2006, 68). This single example represents in fact the clear exemplification of the U.S.'s belief in its messianic mission as a guide for democracy. This belief motivated its intervention policy since the end of the 19th century when, diplomatically, it began to interfere in foreign policy issues. The First and Second World Wars were similar cases in which it manifested its power and military might in the name of democracy but also in an imperialistic sense.
We live in a world in which political relations stand at the basis of all connections, regardless of the cultural background of the contacts or the affinities between the respective actors of the international scene. Therefore, I consider Americanism to be defined more through the perspective of the latter view rather than of the former because the issue of the cultural supremacy of the American way of life is more dependent on the peoples, whereas the issue of imperialism and its manifestation is more a matter of imposing one's rule over the rest. At the moment, I do consider that Americanism can be defined as imperialism.
Reference
Fukuyama, Francis. America at the crossroads. Democracy, power, and the neoconservative legacy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.
Sample Source(s) Used
Reference
Fukuyama, Francis. America at the crossroads. Democracy, power, and the neoconservative legacy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.
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