When Barack Obama was on an overseas trip early in his term, he was asked a question about American exceptionalism. His apparently tactful response was that every country rightly considered itself to be exceptional for one reason or another. Republicans went ballistic over the supposed lack of patriotism that his remark displayed, and his comment was part of the basis for the bogus GOP claim about the “apology tour.”
Strictly speaking, of course, Obama was right. However, American exceptionalism traditionally has differed from most kinds of exceptionalism in that it focuses, not on language, religion, culture, or ethnicity, but on our political system. Americans believe their system of limited government, individual rights, and the rule of law is the best in the world, and will work for everyone. Just as our country is made up of the descendants of immigrants, and can be viewed as a sort of UN in miniature, so the rest of the world can learn from our example.
The irony, of course, is that the new Republican president doesn’t view the world in this way. Trump is a blood and soil nationalist with minimal respect for any legal limits on his power. He would fit better in Poland or Hungary than here.