Discussion: American Exceptionalism

We're going to do something a little different today on account of the fact that we had a Strong Towns meeting in St. Paul yesterday after getting six inches of snow, which not only increased my time behind the wheel from five to about seven hours for the trip but also required me to blow the snow out of my drive at midnight when I got home. Such is the life of a Minnesotan, which I love, but which also occasionally intrudes on my writing time.

Last weekend I read a column from Matt Miller of the Washington Post titled Ohhh, America, you're so strong. I enjoy Matt Miller, especially his work on KCRW's Left, Right and Center which is a great podcast, but am not sure about this column. It essentially is a taunt of our collective belief in our own superiority as Americans, particularly our need to have our politicians constantly repeat this assertion.

I'm with him in this sense....What have you done for me lately, America, to justify the moniker of "exceptional"? We've asked ourselves this question in Minnesota, where the legacy of the "Minnesota Miracle" of the 1970's is something we still thinks makes our people special and, as Garrison Keilor suggests, all our kids above average.

But is this just stuff we tell ourselves or is there some substance to it?

So today we'd like to hear from our readers. If you could take a minute and share your thoughts, please opine on the following topic:

What is American Exceptionalism to you? Does it still exist or, if not, can it be reclaimed?

There's no right or wrong answer to this. What I think we'd all benefit most from is hearing a diverse cross section of answers, so don't be shy.