What Does American Exceptionalism Mean?

This item deals in both facts and common sense.  It is insightful and is absolutely worth reading.  Quote:  "But because of the claim of being “exceptional,” or in fact divinely chosen as some people have suggested of America, the bottom line for the American Exceptionalism ideology has become its promotion of the authoritarianism and collectivism of the centralized State while actually opposing the very philosophies and principles upon which America was founded: individualism, independence, free markets and private property." 

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/scott-lazarowitz/american-exceptionalism-3/  

George Burns