Taking Exception to American Exceptionalism

David Azerrad / December 22, 2010

American exceptionalism is currently at the heart of a great debate over the country’s future and, according to one presidential hopeful at least, will be “one of the two or three deciding issues in 2012.” USA Today devoted its cover story yesterday to the storm of controversy that President Obama’s off-the-cuff remarks on the subject in Strasbourg last year continue to generate. According to a Gallup poll commissioned by USA Today for the story, three quarters of Americans fear that the country is at risk of losing its unique character.

Though the phrase “American exceptionalism” does get tossed around a lot, confusion reigns over its actual meaning. Before deciding whether American exceptionalism is a good or bad thing, whether it’s threatened or not and whether the President actually embraces it, shouldn’t we first figure out what it actually means?

Does it mean, as the USA Today/Gallup poll asked, that America “has a unique character that makes it the greatest country in the world?” Or does it only indicate that “America has a special place and role in the world,” as Mitt Romney writes in No Apology: The Case for American Greatness? (more…)