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‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin criticizes the idea of ’American exceptionalism’ and the Pledge of Allegiance because it ‘doesn’t apply to many of our citizens’: ‘This country has not fulfilled this dream of being this beacon in a hill’
- Sunny Hostin said learning black history changed her perception of America
- He suggested that some US citizens cannot prosper as well as others
- Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin agreed that America was flawed, but said she still loved it.
‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin attacked the idea of ’American exceptionalism’ and the Pledge of Allegiance because she thought America had failed disenfranchised Americans.
Hostin made the comments on ABC’s The View on Thursday as the show’s hosts kicked off their coverage of Black History Month.
She told viewers that her critical attitude towards the US is something she developed with age as she understood more about black history.
“The problem I have is this narrative of American exceptionalism that we’ve been taught as children,” he said. “I began to realize that the royal loyalty oath does not apply to many of our citizens.”
However, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin responded, “Loving your country doesn’t mean saying your country is perfect.”
‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin attacked the idea of ’American exceptionalism’ and the Pledge of Allegiance because America has failed disenfranchised Americans.
Alyssa Farah Griffin responded by saying: ‘Loving your country is not saying your country is perfect’
Hostin, who was born to a Puerto Rican mother and an African-American father in New York City, explained how as a child she subscribed to the idea that America was somehow special.
“I swore the allegiance oath my whole life in school and then when I got into college, I took an African-American history course,” he said.
“He hasn’t fulfilled the dream of being exceptional,” he said of the United States. ‘This country has not fulfilled this dream of being this lighthouse on the hill.’
He also endorsed the idea that no one should be forced to swear allegiance to the country.
“The Supreme Court has already ruled that no one can be forced to make the promise, but until we make good on the promise of what this country could really be, then we shouldn’t promote ourselves as exceptionalists,” he said.
That’s when Farah Griffin intervened, telling Hostin that one could support one’s country without supporting it in every way.
“I love this great, beautiful, flawed nation,” he said, before explaining that he wants to see improvements in how it works.
“We strive, and the constitution says so, to form a more perfect union and I think that is something that we must internalize and constantly strive for progress,” said Farah Griffin.
Hostin, who was born to a Puerto Rican mother and an African-American father in New York City, explained how as a child she subscribed to the idea that America was somehow special.
But he also vehemently rejected criticism of the United States and insisted that perceptions that European countries are more advanced or progressive are not true.
“I am very aware of the failings of this country and I believe that committed citizens are the ones that are going to fix that,” he said. “But there’s a bit of this ‘Europe has it all under control, we’re a big mess’ narrative. I’ll just point out that France bans the burqa even though it has the largest Muslim population in Europe.
France banned the wearing of face coverings and veils in public in 2011. The law disproportionately affected certain Muslim women and meant those wearing a full-face veil could be fined €150. Farah Griffin cited this as an example of how the United States has comparatively liberal social values.
“As an Arab American, I’m sorry, that’s racist,” he said of the French ban. ‘China, the global superpower competing against the US, currently has Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps as we speak.
‘They cut blacks out of movies in China. Racist right there. Iran is killing women and protesters for not wearing the hijab correctly, and by the way, some Eastern European countries criminalized homosexuality until very recently.