When did Americans stop believing in "American Exceptionalism"?

Question

I hear a knee jerk guilt from a lot of people I talk to. They say things like, "we're no better than any other country". "Who are we to tell illegal immigrants they can't come here"." Who are we to dictate how freedom is imposed around the world". Has the meaning of our founding fathers been lost? Ponder this question when answering this. How have we become so powerful as a nation in such little time if we aren't an exceptional country?

Answer 1

Political correctness which makes it wrong to have pride and patriotism is responsible for what you observe

Answer 2

We stopped believing in "American Exceptionalism" about ten years after we stopped being exceptional, which would be about ten years after McCarthy.

The ideals of our Founding Fathers have remained in the hearts and minds of most Americans since day one. It does well to remember that the spark that ignited the Revolutionary War was not from a flintlock at Lexington and Concord, it was from a three cent tax on tea. It all boiled down to taxes paid versus benefits recieved, and the French weren't so much of a threat by then.

Nowadays, we are definately getting most of the government we are paying for, and its a real shame! One of the founding tenets of this country was personal freedom for those residing within its borders. Freedom from what? The government.

Answer 3

we are an exceptional country and I take a great deal of pride in being an American!

however to answer your question.  it started during the hippie movement of the 1960's and has gotten progressivly worse ever since to the point our nation is so divided that its a miracle we have not started killing one another over political viewpoints

Answer 4

I have never stopped believing in it.  I believe that the USA was formed to help spread freedom and democracy around the word.

With luck and with faith in God, we will succeed!

Answer 5

Let's see:

1. The holocaust of the Native American

2. People being bought and sold at the slave markets.

3. Colonizing half of what was old Mexico.

4. Becoming the wealthiest nation on the planet, but providing fewer social welfare programs than most 3rd world countries.

5. 50% divorce rate.

6. The generation before leaving us a huge debt/deficit so they wouldn't have to do without anything they wanted.

7. Building prisons to solve the 'poverty problem".

Need anymore suggestions?

Answer 6

"How have we become so powerful as a nation in such little time if we aren't an exceptional country?"

America succeeded because of its economic and political models, which promote freedom to some extent. There are two problems though: too much gov't spending and too many wars.

Answer 7

If it is not our land we ought not say how or by whom it is governed. Are we to become like the imperial powers before us and oppress, destroy and steal to maintain our power? If they want to be part of the U.S. or would like our help fine enough, but we have no right to impose our will upon a world that generally has no interest in it. We were actually isolationists for much of our history unless it involved our part of the world. Remember the Monroe Doctrine which directly opposed colonization and interference in foreign conflict. James Monroe was a founding father and the doctrine was followed up until the first world war by which time we'd already owned all of the lands currently part of the United States. We are an exceptional nation, but that isn't to say we couldn't be better.