An Example of American Exceptionalism.

American students today learn that their country is a racist, oppressive country, far more often a force for evil than it is for good. But there is one unlikely voice that speaks powerfully against this narrative.

On September 2, 1945, a man named Toshikazu Kase stood on the deck of the USS Missouri, as part of a Japanese delegation. They were there to officially surrender to the United States, thus ending the Second World War.

Kase expected what every vanquished foe throughout history expected upon surrender: to be punished to the greatest extent, perhaps by death. Instead, he listened as American General Douglas MacArthur expressed his hope that “a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past…” – one “dedicated to the dignity of man.”

The general’s words stunned Kase. He later wrote, “Here is the victor announcing the verdict to the prostrate enemy. He can impose a humiliating penalty… and yet he pleads for freedom, tolerance, and justice. For me, who expected the worst humiliation, this was a complete surprise. I was thrilled beyond words, spellbound, thunderstruck.” Kase then noted that, had the situation been reversed, he doubted that his side would have offered “a similar

magnanimity.”

Modern day critics scoff at the idea of American exceptionalism, but for a one-time vanquished foe, it was a life-altering reality.

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