Andrew O'Hehir on the NYPD and its Broader Implications

Andrew O'Hehir is becoming one of my favorite political commentators (he started out as a movie reviewer). This essay about the NYPD mini-"rebellion" is a great example of why. It includes one of the best distillations of American Exceptionalism that I've yet seen:

Rather, these worldviews rest on the idea that America is not defined by its democratic institutions, but by a mystical or spiritual essence that cannot be precisely described — but is understood far better by some of its citizens than by others. If those attuned to this patriotic frequency overwhelmingly tend to be white males, that is not evidence of racism (they might say) but of the clarity and selflessness of their political vision.