[patro]

Rush Limbaugh sums up well what American Exceptionalism really is.

[Political Junkie Too]

The idea of "American Exceptionalism" came from the phrase "The Great American Experiment," coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy In America published in 1835.

The United States was considered "exceptional" because it was self-created at a time when other nations were either ruled via conquest of the strong over the weak, or were hereditary dynastic monarchies that sustained through inter-marriage between nation-states.

The United States was "exceptional" because it was the only nation created by a social compact amongst the people to live within the guidelines of a constitution and its derived laws, established by the people with the consent of the governed. Power was transferred via non-violent means, and the people adhered to that social contract.

People today don't remember (or were never taught) why the phrase "American Exceptionalism" came to be.

-PJ