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Originally Posted by bizaro86
This comment is way underrated. The history of American Exceptionalism, that everything in the USA is automatically the best means that that huge numbers of people would believe a US turnout record is a world record.
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American exceptionalism is such a misunderstood term. It was originally coined by Alexis de Tocqueville and was used to describe the ideals the founding fathers were embracing related to personal freedoms and a government of the people and for the people. The was unique at the time as most nations were monarchies, so this made America an exception to the rule, hence making it "exceptional" (different). The term has since been coopted by conservatives to mean something different, the definition you referenced.
The reality is America is not exceptional. It is no longer that different, and it certainly is no longer the leader in much. In a global community the United States is routinely ranked in the middle to bottom of industrialized nations in almost all measures. America is great, but not exceptional, not when compared to other G20 nations. The idea of American exceptionalism is now nothing more than a punch line for other nations to laugh at. Americans are no more free than any one of a hundred countries around the globe. They do not have any more liberties than any of the other countries they should be compared against. American exceptionalism died when other nations adopted democratic governments.
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Like how the World Series is the championship of a US domestic baseball league (that added one Canadian team decades into its history)
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Ed'slunch just explained this.