It really bugs me the rightwing thinks Americans are "exceptional"

[Liminal]

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

The word "exceptionalism" means: "the condition of being different from the norm."
Exceptionalism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

In my perception then the USA is exceptional because the USA is a nation made up of MORE people that are exceptional that come from countries
that don't provide the encouragement to be exceptional.
NO country in the world is made up of more people coming from other countries then the USA.
More of these people that come are exceptional people that see the USA as providing an environment more conducive to their exceptionalism!

In other words there is no real definition for American exceptionalism. Just another vague rhetorical concept.

You are the one not getting it.
Just because it has been explained it different ways does not mean a vague rhetorical concept. The basic concept is there and you are not able to see it.
You are not getting the concept of Freedom from Government and individualism.
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to control us, so that Americans have the freedom to become exceptional again.
We have become the Despot ruler and Oligarchy that the Revolutionary War was fought over.

Even more vague.

See the last line -- Peach and I arrived at the same spot.

That's the whole point of the earlier definition post -- it IS vague when a term has been haphazardly applied over time, from one of Liberal government by The People to Manifest Destiy to communists to a general hubristic catchall. Vague is kind of inevitable. That's why I'm always a stickler for proper definitions like "Liberal". And also why I'm always demanding one for "Progressive". You can't communicate with Vague.

Vague eliminates the need for actual thought. It's easier.

 

[healthmyths]

I don't deny the fact that exceptional people built this nation. That is without question. I'm proud of that. However, this idea that Americans of today are more exceptional than other people in this world is such non sense. Stupid, entitled, materialistic, and arrogant is what Americans are.

My god, just look at the Tea Party. There are foreigners who admire America, but when they look at the Tea Party, they just scoff or laugh. Tea baggers, in terms of intelligence, are much stupider than the average person the world over. They are also selfish, arrogant and racist. I mean this is the movement who bitches about government spending but also insists on ridiculous tax cuts. How can you respect people who don't understand the concept of revenue?

And yes, I do think there are some great Americans living today. I just don't think being American has anything to do with it.

In terms of citizens, America is not at all superior to the rest of the world. Let's stop pretending that it is.

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

 

[Liminal]

I don't deny the fact that exceptional people built this nation. That is without question. I'm proud of that. However, this idea that Americans of today are more exceptional than other people in this world is such non sense. Stupid, entitled, materialistic, and arrogant is what Americans are.

My god, just look at the Tea Party. There are foreigners who admire America, but when they look at the Tea Party, they just scoff or laugh. Tea baggers, in terms of intelligence, are much stupider than the average person the world over. They are also selfish, arrogant and racist. I mean this is the movement who bitches about government spending but also insists on ridiculous tax cuts. How can you respect people who don't understand the concept of revenue?

And yes, I do think there are some great Americans living today. I just don't think being American has anything to do with it.

In terms of citizens, America is not at all superior to the rest of the world. Let's stop pretending that it is.

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

 

[Ernie S.]

I don't deny the fact that exceptional people built this nation. That is without question. I'm proud of that. However, this idea that Americans of today are more exceptional than other people in this world is such non sense. Stupid, entitled, materialistic, and arrogant is what Americans are.

My god, just look at the Tea Party. There are foreigners who admire America, but when they look at the Tea Party, they just scoff or laugh. Tea baggers, in terms of intelligence, are much stupider than the average person the world over. They are also selfish, arrogant and racist. I mean this is the movement who bitches about government spending but also insists on ridiculous tax cuts. How can you respect people who don't understand the concept of revenue?

And yes, I do think there are some great Americans living today. I just don't think being American has anything to do with it.

In terms of citizens, America is not at all superior to the rest of the world. Let's stop pretending that it is.

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

Lucky??? We're lucky that we are a nation of exceptional people who designed an exceptional form of government. We're lucky that with the exceptional freedoms they ensured enabled us to amass exceptional wealth and power. We are lucky that we had the ability to halt fascism and Communism and have been able to defend ourselves and less powerful nations from those threats.
AND we are exceedingly lucky that in just under 2 short years, we will be rid of the man who has vowed to fundamentally transform the greatest country in the history of mankind into some perversion of it's exceptional design.

 

[Ernie S.]

I don't deny the fact that exceptional people built this nation. That is without question. I'm proud of that. However, this idea that Americans of today are more exceptional than other people in this world is such non sense. Stupid, entitled, materialistic, and arrogant is what Americans are.

My god, just look at the Tea Party. There are foreigners who admire America, but when they look at the Tea Party, they just scoff or laugh. Tea baggers, in terms of intelligence, are much stupider than the average person the world over. They are also selfish, arrogant and racist. I mean this is the movement who bitches about government spending but also insists on ridiculous tax cuts. How can you respect people who don't understand the concept of revenue?

And yes, I do think there are some great Americans living today. I just don't think being American has anything to do with it.

In terms of citizens, America is not at all superior to the rest of the world. Let's stop pretending that it is.

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

 

[Liminal]

I don't deny the fact that exceptional people built this nation. That is without question. I'm proud of that. However, this idea that Americans of today are more exceptional than other people in this world is such non sense. Stupid, entitled, materialistic, and arrogant is what Americans are.

My god, just look at the Tea Party. There are foreigners who admire America, but when they look at the Tea Party, they just scoff or laugh. Tea baggers, in terms of intelligence, are much stupider than the average person the world over. They are also selfish, arrogant and racist. I mean this is the movement who bitches about government spending but also insists on ridiculous tax cuts. How can you respect people who don't understand the concept of revenue?

And yes, I do think there are some great Americans living today. I just don't think being American has anything to do with it.

In terms of citizens, America is not at all superior to the rest of the world. Let's stop pretending that it is.

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

Lucky??? We're lucky that we are a nation of exceptional people who designed an exceptional form of government. We're lucky that with the exceptional freedoms they ensured enabled us to amass exceptional wealth and power. We are lucky that we had the ability to halt fascism and Communism and have been able to defend ourselves and less powerful nations from those threats.
AND we are exceedingly lucky that in just under 2 short years, we will be rid of the man who has vowed to fundamentally transform the greatest country in the history of mankind into some perversion of it's exceptional design.

We're lucky to stand on the shoulders of the exceptional people who originally built this country. Unfortunately that legacy has been passed on to an extremely unexceptional people who don't deserve the freedoms they've inherited.

 

[Liminal]

American Exceptionalism is just another generic catch phrase that can mean whatever you want.

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

 

[Pogo]

Study in American Exceptionalism: Navassa

Navassa is a small island off the coast of Haiti, claimed in that country's constitution since Haiti's beginning in 1804. It's an uninhabited and unforgiving repository of unique flora and fauna, scorpions, and lots and lots of bird shit.

So what? Exactly. Nobody cared, including Haiti itself, until 1856, when our sterling US Congress passed the -- and I'm not making this up --- Guano Islands Act of 1856, which declared by royal American Exceptionalist fiat that US citizens could "take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other governments. It also empowers the President of the United States to use the military to protect such interests and establishes the criminal jurisdiction of the United States" (Wiki, op. cit.) The Guano Act "appertained" over 100 islands in the Caribbean, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico (including Midway) over the next years.

Got that? We just up and declared that if you find an island festooned in bird shit and nobody's living there, you can just take it. Which actually sounds halfway reasonable if no country claims it (terra nullius)... but why is Congress passing bird shit legislation in the first place?

Always something behind the story. Seems American farmers, having depleted the fertility of this new frontier with relentless planting of tobacco and cotton, were seeing diminishing returns from Nature (a kind of hubris in itself of the same mentality) and started importing guano from Peru. Guano from seabirds was discovered to be an excellent fertilizer.

The next year (1857) along comes American merchant marine Peter Duncan to claim the island of Navassa under the Guano Act, which he then flips to a guano trader in Jamaica who flips it to a company in Baltimore. All of this despite the fact that Navassa isn't terra nullius at all but a declared part of Haiti since its beginning over half a century earlier. President Buchanan then issues an Executive Order upholding the claim and directs the US military to enforce it.

Let's recap.
Congress says you can take an island if nobody claims it;
Duncan takes one that's part of Haiti to sell it off;
Haiti protests;
POTUS threatens military action to protect -- not the country, but the interests of a business in Baltimore.

(In the next two years of course Buchanan would fail to protect the country from internal forces rending it apart and set the table for the Civil War, the failure for which he's widely regarded one of the worst Presidents of all time.)

Epilogue: Once the War Between the States subsided, and in the milieu of a devastated populace desperate for work, the Baltimore company brought 140 black workers to Navassa with half a dozen white overseers to mine the petrified guano (dangerous dirty disgusting work using dynamite). The hapless workers were signed on as little more than indentured slaves and, of course, confined to the island The unspeakable conditions led to a revolt in 1889 and the mining was never the same, the Navassa Phosphate Company folded, and later synthetic chemical fertilizer rendered guano less attractive as a resource.

Navassa was used as a lighthouse base by the Coast Guard for a while once ship traffic to the Panama Canal (which is a similar story, taking Panama from Colombia) started operating, but the lighthouse was abandoned once technologies like GPS made it superfluous. Yet, to this day Navassa is "administered" by the US Department of the Interior ----- despite being a part of Haiti. The irony of that is so thick you'd need dynamite to mine it. We basically walked in and declared "we're taking over". Not even a birdshit royalty check.

Doesn't get much more hubristic than that. And that's the sort of thing I think of when I hear the term "American Exceptionalism".

 

[Ernie S.]

Ah, like "Progressive"? Or even "Liberal" on these pages? So what, if anything, does it mean to you?

It's not a term I use or embrace but for some clue what we're talking about here's some disturbing description from our rhetorical Commons (Wiki):

Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and other American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.[4][5] To them, the U.S. is like the biblical "City upon a Hill"—a phrase evoked by British colonists to North America as early as 1630—and exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries.[6]

...American exceptionalism was tied to the idea of Manifest Destiny,[18] a term used by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the acquisition of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession of California and New Mexico and adjacent areas).

....
Historian Dorothy Ross discussed three currents in American exceptionalism:

1. Protestant American Christians believed American progress would lead to the Christian Millennium.[20]
2. American writers also linked their history to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England, even back to the traditions of the Teutonic tribes that conquered the western Roman empire.[21]

.... Parts of American exceptionalism can be traced to American Puritan roots.... One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, metaphorically expressed this idea as a "City upon a Hill"—that the Puritan community of New England should serve as a model community for the rest of the world.[32][33] This metaphor is often used by proponents of exceptionalism. The Puritans' deep moralistic values remained part of the national identity of the United States for centuries, remaining influential to the present day.

Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it attempts to be a force for good because it is exceptional".
--- much more at "American Exceptionlism" link
​

As you already noted, it's meant many things to many sources over time, some positive and some negative, including simply the "exceptional" (at the time) Liberal idea of government by the People replacing the traditional government by the Élite. But the worrisome cherrypicked negative aspects above, which sadly seem to be the more contemporary descriptions, seem to have turned that definition around 180 degrees, from "cast off the "Elite" to "We ARE the Ëlite!" It would seem, at least as some use it, the term has come to embrace that which it formerly despised.

Much like some here do with the word "Liberal".

Funny how these things evolve.

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

Let's see.... You're called stupid by Liberals AND Conservatives.... Let's examine that.

Could it be that, I don't know.... You're stupid?

 

[Pogo]

Changing the meaning of language is a big part of the political dynamic these days. Americans aren't exceptional, just lucky. America may be an exceptional place, but Americans are far from exceptional. You only have to read this forum to understand that.

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

Let's see.... You're called stupid by Liberals AND Conservatives.... Let's examine that.

Could it be that, I don't know.... You're stupid?

Welcome to the site, Liminal. Just because I've never seen you before now.

Ernie's not exactly Chair of the Welcome Wagon. It definitely gets better.

 

[peach174]

The word "exceptional-ism" means: "the condition of being different from the norm."
Exceptional-ism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

In my perception then the USA is exceptional because the USA is a nation made up of MORE people that are exceptional that come from countries
that don't provide the encouragement to be exceptional.
NO country in the world is made up of more people coming from other countries then the USA.
More of these people that come are exceptional people that see the USA as providing an environment more conducive to their exceptionalism!

In other words there is no real definition for American exceptionalism. Just another vague rhetorical concept.

You are the one not getting it.
Just because it has been explained it different ways does not mean a vague rhetorical concept. The basic concept is there and you are not able to see it.
You are not getting the concept of Freedom from Government and individualism.
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to control us, so that Americans have the freedom to become exceptional again.
We have become the Despot ruler and Oligarchy that the Revolutionary War was fought over.

Even more vague.

Can't get any more plain than Freedom from Government and individualism.

More generic concepts. You might just as well consider yourself exceptional because you like food and water.

Once again this needs to be explained to you.
Exceptionalism is not about individual people or one country being any better than another country.
It is about how our Government is run and how it does or does not control us.

Here is a little lesson on generic concepts.
Generic Concepts and Definitions - CertMag

Words have meaning and they are not a generic concept.

 

[Mac1958]

.

What is the specific tangible reason it matters if America is "exceptional" or not?

In what way, precisely, does this status manifest?

.

 

[Liminal]

So you don't think there is ONE SINGLE exceptional person in the USA that came from another country?
How narrow minded! How racist!

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

Let's see.... You're called stupid by Liberals AND Conservatives.... Let's examine that.

Could it be that, I don't know.... You're stupid?

Welcome to the site, Liminal. Just because I've never seen you before now.

Ernie's not exactly Chair of the Welcome Wagon. It definitely gets better.

He's not very bright either. Do you think that's likely to improve as well?

 

[Pogo]

In other words there is no real definition for American exceptionalism. Just another vague rhetorical concept.

You are the one not getting it.
Just because it has been explained it different ways does not mean a vague rhetorical concept. The basic concept is there and you are not able to see it.
You are not getting the concept of Freedom from Government and individualism.
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to control us, so that Americans have the freedom to become exceptional again.
We have become the Despot ruler and Oligarchy that the Revolutionary War was fought over.

Even more vague.

Can't get any more plain than Freedom from Government and individualism.

More generic concepts. You might just as well consider yourself exceptional because you like food and water.

Once again this needs to be explained to you.
Exceptionalism is not about individual people or one country being any better than another country.
It is about how our Government is run and how it does or does not control us.

Here is a little lesson on generic concepts.
Generic Concepts and Definitions - CertMag

Words have meaning and they are not a generic concept.

Words definitely do have meaning, Peachy.

That's why I think it's kind of important to first agree on what that meaning is. I'm not sure we're quite there on this one, since there's still debate going on asserting "it doesn't mean X, it means Y".

 

[boilermaker55]

In your feeble mind you would like to have some utopian country, simple-minded as you are it never happens that way.
As far as accusing anyone of hating a country, your stupidity once again precedes you; the evidence you have to make that statement
is non-existent.

Perhaps it could be the other concept is wrong. The far right and the tea party who ever, feel that what ever the United States does is not wrong in any way or in any manner.

Yeah, feel free to twist yourself into a pretzel in this matter but the fact remains loony lefties have lined up to take pot-shots at America and Americans here because that's what you whiny snivelers do.
You just hate.

 

[Pogo]

I have no idea what that means.

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

Let's see.... You're called stupid by Liberals AND Conservatives.... Let's examine that.

Could it be that, I don't know.... You're stupid?

Welcome to the site, Liminal. Just because I've never seen you before now.

Ernie's not exactly Chair of the Welcome Wagon. It definitely gets better.

He's not very bright either. Do you think that's likely to improve as well?

I have to be honest --- he's a lot brighter than he gives himself credit for. Unfortunately he's an angry sort. More so than most. But his logical skills, if he lets them out unpolluted by rage, are actually admirable.

 

[Liminal]

In other words there is no real definition for American exceptionalism. Just another vague rhetorical concept.

You are the one not getting it.
Just because it has been explained it different ways does not mean a vague rhetorical concept. The basic concept is there and you are not able to see it.
You are not getting the concept of Freedom from Government and individualism.
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to control us, so that Americans have the freedom to become exceptional again.
We have become the Despot ruler and Oligarchy that the Revolutionary War was fought over.

Even more vague.

Can't get any more plain than Freedom from Government and individualism.

More generic concepts. You might just as well consider yourself exceptional because you like food and water.

Once again this needs to be explained to you.
Exceptionalism is not about individual people or one country being any better than another country.
It is about how our Government is run and how it does or does not control us.

Here is a little lesson on generic concepts.
Generic Concepts and Definitions - CertMag

Words have meaning and they are not a generic concept.

So far I've seen nothing but vague, generic definitions for the meaning of American exceptionalism. It's obviously a rhetorical term that can be interpreted in many ways.

 

[Liminal]

Of course not. You are exceptionally stupid.

When I joined this forum I was personally attacked, almost without exception, by people identifying themselves as liberals. It's difficult to tell you people apart.

Let's see.... You're called stupid by Liberals AND Conservatives.... Let's examine that.

Could it be that, I don't know.... You're stupid?

Welcome to the site, Liminal. Just because I've never seen you before now.

Ernie's not exactly Chair of the Welcome Wagon. It definitely gets better.

He's not very bright either. Do you think that's likely to improve as well?

I have to be honest --- he's a lot brighter than he gives himself credit for. Unfortunately he's an angry sort. More so than most. But his logical skills, if he lets them out unpolluted by rage, are actually admirable.

I'll be sure to acknowledge those skills when I see them.

 

[Pogo]

You are the one not getting it.
Just because it has been explained it different ways does not mean a vague rhetorical concept. The basic concept is there and you are not able to see it.
You are not getting the concept of Freedom from Government and individualism.
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to control us, so that Americans have the freedom to become exceptional again.
We have become the Despot ruler and Oligarchy that the Revolutionary War was fought over.

Even more vague.

Can't get any more plain than Freedom from Government and individualism.

More generic concepts. You might just as well consider yourself exceptional because you like food and water.

Once again this needs to be explained to you.
Exceptionalism is not about individual people or one country being any better than another country.
It is about how our Government is run and how it does or does not control us.

Here is a little lesson on generic concepts.
Generic Concepts and Definitions - CertMag

Words have meaning and they are not a generic concept.

So far I've seen nothing but vague, generic definitions for the meaning of American exceptionalism. It's obviously a rhetorical term that can be interpreted in many ways.

As I hear and infer, the term seems intended to mean a kind of national elitist superiority complex. Which is reason enough to hold it in contempt.

From the body of what I read here, the term "Liberal" is more vague, and the term "Progressive" (as a noun) has no definition whatsoever. So pinning down AE might be the least of our definitional challenges.

 

[Liminal]

Even more vague.

Can't get any more plain than Freedom from Government and individualism.

More generic concepts. You might just as well consider yourself exceptional because you like food and water.

Once again this needs to be explained to you.
Exceptionalism is not about individual people or one country being any better than another country.
It is about how our Government is run and how it does or does not control us.

Here is a little lesson on generic concepts.
Generic Concepts and Definitions - CertMag

Words have meaning and they are not a generic concept.

So far I've seen nothing but vague, generic definitions for the meaning of American exceptionalism. It's obviously a rhetorical term that can be interpreted in many ways.

As I hear and infer, the term seems intended to mean a kind of elitist superiority complex. Which is reason enough to hold it in contempt.

Reeks of superiority, as if we're somehow better people.