The same imperial twaddle every empire in history has used to justify its crimes. Just "the white man's burden" for contemporary times. And yes, America's fantasy that there was a unipolar world after the collapse of the USSR is in free fall now. Agreed, Washington appears ignorant of this fact.

Long over. In some ways WW2 was the worst thing that ever happened to the US. They came in as late as possible; most Americans didn't want to (America first), then acquiring a false sense of self- righteousness and invincibility, proceeded to create an Empire, of intertwined corporate and military interests, instead of evolving to try to achieve its ideals of freedom and democracy, and inspire these globally. The long sad list of disastrous wars and interventions and interference overtly and covertly has been the result. In response they have flooded us with endless propaganda from Hollywood reinforcing these myths and pretentions. American capitalism is brutal and anything but a role model. American politics is a corrupt binary system under the hegemony of the country's elites. American legal system mostly suppresses a huge and growing underclass, while protecting wealth and privilege. And so on. Americans at their best can be an exceptionally creative people, but there's no exceptionalism about their systems or governance. If Trump has shown anything, it is that American exceptionalism is a myth; the structures are weak and corruptible and the same forces that we've seen in the past in crumbling countries and empires, can apply there. I'm not sure, however, if most Americans realise how unexceptional America looks from an international perspective these days, as America limps along between elections, and the authoritarian groups plot relentlessly towards the end of what is called democracy there.

I have never believed that my country or any country is exceptional or the best in every sense of the word than any other country and those who do are spouting jingoistic nonsense. It is the sort of nonsense that fuels base rhetoric and a tool in the hands of divisive politicians.

Every country is exceptional in some ways, but every country thinks that it was even more exceptional in the past.

In fact the past was just grim everywhere. These are the exceptional times, enjoy them before they fade, and start to resemble the glorious past, when most people died before they were forty, and most people had never seen a book, let alone read one.

I remember a world exhibition of culture where US represented themselves as Hollywood. Which is often a ripped from many other cultures like a corrupted art form , highly polished. US sold out many of their industries to Russia (Change from communism) and China 30 years ago. Now whinning and dumping many their bad feeling towards them, instead of pulling themselves up by their own boot straps.
LGBT work often with the poliical woke almost like a new cult. It's very difficult to have a debate with them coming to the table with evidence and facts. And when you do, they get rude and call you a racist, white supremacist, bigotry, BSers and everything esle under the sun. There is good and bad in every group, Im not against anyone or group yet it seems there is too many narcissists for me to handle. Then the Government throws money at them for political and education jobs because the Government has become anti- family. Trans gender medical clinics have gone fron 1 in 2007 to 300 clinics till now, a 300times increased. We could all be all gay by 2040.if this keeps up.

Puff, I agree with your every word here. The older I get the more I see that I am not as proud of my country as I once thought I was. Maybe it is because these days I am taking a deeper look at everything.

I will agree with you on this, more or less. The U.S. has achieved some great things but at the same time has done some terrible and unjustifiable things. American exceptionalism sounds a lot like MAGA and their belief that America was great at some point in the past while failing to acknowledge that America was not so great for minorities, women, gays, and people of color.

I will disagree strongly on your skewed comment on the "woke movement". Many (woke) people want the sins of the past simply to be acknowledged and condemned rather than ignored or white-washed. The U.S. has done a multitude of terrible things over the course of its history and we need to face the truth rather than try and bury it.