海角大神

It鈥檚 a statement that sounds compelling but which, like much else in recent US politics, has invited dueling critiques from left and right: that America is more than just a country, or a culture. 鈥淎merica is an idea.鈥�

If so, we鈥檝e just seen a dramatic retreat from so-called American exceptionalism: the belief that the idea is special, and that America鈥檚 democratic experiment has given it a role to inspire others around the world. The forum was last week鈥檚 annual gathering of world leaders for the UN General Assembly. President Trump delivered an address defining the US as a superpower, but a country like any other 鈥� each with a 鈥渄istinct culture, a rich history 鈥� and the values that make our homelands like nowhere else on earth.鈥�

While the speech was entirely consistent with his 鈥淎merica First鈥� credo, the wider shift of which it鈥檚 a part could have real-world consequences.

In my own 45-year experience as a foreign correspondent, the outside world does see the 鈥渋dea of America鈥� as exceptional: an amalgam that includes democracy and the rule of law; freedom of worship, expression, and protest; and the promise of opportunity at the core of the old American Dream.

America isn鈥檛 universally loved. Its critics point out that the 鈥渋dea of America鈥� has not always been perfectly honored 鈥� whether at home, for African-Americans and other minorities; or abroad, where realpolitik has often meant cozying up to autocrats. But even adversaries have seen America as somehow special. When I first met PLO leader Yasser Arafat, an aide welcomed me with a lecture about 鈥淎merican-Zionist imperialism.鈥� Later, he drew me aside and asked how to get a green card.

Two issues in particular 鈥� freedom of expression, and the world鈥檚 response to refugees and asylum-seekers 鈥� may bear watching. On both, the US has long played a crucial role, not just through policies or actions, but the 鈥渟oft power鈥� example of the American idea.聽

Especially in countries like Syria or the former USSR, or the black townships of state-of-emergency South Africa, I鈥檝e been struck by how dissidents or democracy activists viewed America鈥檚 First Amendment freedoms: not merely with admiration or envy, but as a kind of gold standard to which they believed their own governments should ultimately be held to account.

The First Amendment is alive and well in the US. The question for press-freedom advocates overseas is whether Mr. Trump鈥檚 refrain of 鈥渇ake news鈥� and his characterization of critical voices as 鈥渆nemies of the people鈥� could further embolden regimes like Vladimir Putin鈥檚 in Russia or Recep Tayyip Erdogan鈥檚 in Turkey, where independent journalists have been silenced, even killed.

America has also played the leading role in helping refugees worldwide: now numbering nearly 70 million, according to the UN, including some 25 million fleeing war or fear of persecution. That, too, has been seen as part of the American idea, embodied in the words of welcome on the Statue of Liberty.

The US remains the largest donor to the UN鈥檚 refugee program. Since the 1980 US Refugee Act helped kickstart an international effort to address the problem, around three-quarters of the 4 million people resettled have come to America.

The number admitted fell steeply, however, in the first year of the Trump administration: from nearly 100,000 to 33,000. Next year鈥檚 cap has been set at 30,000. The question that has prompted abroad is whether at a time when other countries, especially in Europe, are facing pressure from anti-immigration nationalists, Washington鈥檚 example will make the argument for offering refuge doubly difficult.

A wider potential impact was highlighted by Israeli politician Natan Sharansky after the US-North Korea summit. He was imprisoned in the USSR as a human rights activist. When Trump omitted any reference to North Korea鈥檚 human rights record, suggesting North Koreans supported Kim Jung-Un鈥檚 dictatorship with 鈥済reat fervor,鈥� Mr. Sharansky wrote about how important US-led criticism of Soviet human rights violations was in keeping his and other dissidents鈥� hopes alive.

Trump should 鈥渦nderstand how demoralizing it is for dissidents 鈥� to commend the supposed love affair between Kim and his people,鈥� he said. 鈥淪uch statements undermine America鈥檚 moral standing and dampen North Korean dissent, the most powerful unconventional weapon in the fight against dictatorship.鈥�