The Case for American Exceptionalism (Not Perfection)

In recent years, there has been a push in the political realm to decry a certain overt showing of patriotic pride in America. While the red, white, and blue displays of bunting or the occasional “God bless America” sign on someone’s front porch may not be under attack, it doesn’t take long to find those who describe any rendering of American exceptionalism with a variety of negative connotations. These buzzwords, such as “nationalistic” or “Christian nationalist,” are often attached to those who believe America is exceptional and are intended to serve as a derogatory moniker detailing the bearer’s selfishness and ignorance of the broader international and cultural landscapes (even though in doing so the bestower of the titles is taking the definition of both words to their extreme ends, but that is an article for another time). Therefore, we must answer two main questions: what is the definition of American exceptionalism and does America truly fit the definition?

Aside from the political theory definition of “American Exceptionalism,” “exceptionalism” as a stand-alone term means being different from the norm; in other words, something that is unique, that stands out among like things, and cannot be mistaken for something else through the very act of its being set apart. It also has a positive connotation – one doesn’t often hear of a bad thing being labeled “exceptional” or if they do it often leads to someone questioning the motives of the bestowing entity. Adding the adjective “American” retains this definition yet applies it in a specific context: America is positively unique among nations, both historically and contemporarily. Why? This is where the rubber meets the road and things begin to become controversial in some circles.

The term “American Exceptionalism” naturally begs the question: what is so special about America? What are the things that this nation has done differently that cause people to view it as set apart from the rest of the nations that exist? While the reasons are numerous, the primary reason discussed by proponents of American Exceptionalism is America’s historical foundation, specifically its origin in Christian morality and democratically republican system of government. When examining primary sources from the Founding Era, both foreign and domestic, it is clear contemporaries of the period recognized that America was special because of its approach to God, which in turn affected its approach to government. Even secular historians admit that the majority of the Founders were Bible-believing Christians because the writings of these influential men lead to no other conclusion. The historical component is only one reason why proponents say America is unique, however, as one could also point to economic statistics, law, and others to demonstrate the point as well.

Therefore, if the overwhelming amount of evidence points to the conclusion that American exceptionalism is real, why do so many push against it? Whenever one brings up the topic, there will always be a few people who respond with something discussing the horrors of our past as a nation, which typically include a reference to slavery, foreign wars, or some other morally reprobate act. They point out only the glaring evils and negative acts of the past as if they are the only things that can define us as a nation, calling them sufficient evidence to conclude there is nothing good that sets America apart. In doing so, however, they are discarding all the good that America has ever done or achieved in its two-hundred-and-fifty years of existence along with the bad.

This “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” method calls for adding a little nuance. When discussing American Exceptionalism with critics, it feels as if they are conflating a sense of American perfection with American Exceptionalism, and there is a difference between the two that is crucial. No country is perfect, and if the definition of American Exceptionalism is that America is a perfect nation which can do no wrong, that extremely dangerous and gross misrepresentation of the facts should be fought against at every turn because it is important we learn from our mistakes. However, as discussed earlier through an examination of the American Exceptionalism’s definition, something can be exceptional without being perfect, and the principles of American government are undoubtedly unique. Therefore, American Exceptionalism refers not so much to the people involved, although there are a lot of incredible heroes between the pages of our nation’s history, but rather to the principles these men and women espoused. Of course even the best of them made mistakes because all people are sinful, yet the flawed implementation of these timeless principles does not mean that the principles themselves are false. To discard American Exceptionalism is to discard the absolute truth found within the principles upon which our nation was built.

It is also true that people may use these principles as a guise to accomplish their selfish ends, further muddying the waters and causing people to turn their backs on what is true. Satan is described in the Bible as being able to present himself as an “angel of light;” therefore, it should not be surprising that there are those in the world who distort, use, and abuse biblical principles to accomplish disgusting ends. Just as the Pharisees were called out by Jesus as outwardly beautiful but inwardly as “whitened sepulchers” (or tombs), men today can present themselves as aligning with the principles that made this nation great when in reality they are only using them to further their own agendas. This does not mean that the principles are the problem, however; the people and their sinful hearts are the problem.

Therefore, it remains clear that, despite what critics may claim, America is exceptional. When the average age of a constitution is 17 years and ours has lasted for over 230 years, that is exceptional. When we have only had one constitution while most nations have had many more in a much shorter amount of time, that is exceptional. When we have only 4% of the nation’s population yet more patents and inventions than the rest of the world, that is exceptional. When our GDP is 25% of the entire world’s GDP when considered in context with our world population percentage, that is exceptional. The list could go on and on, but there is no doubt when one looks at the facts that America is unlike any other nation to exist in the history of mankind because it chose to build its foundation on the solid rock of Christian principles and the absolute truth of God’s Word.