--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea of American exceptionalism…" description: "\"The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to Americans being exceptional.\" — Maureen Dowd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg" --- # The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to… ![“The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to Americans being exceptional.” quote by Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg) > “The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to Americans being exceptional.” [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American exceptionalism claims national superiority, yet ordinary citizens often don’t embody it. **In simple terms:** America isn’t always exceptional. Key Takeaway Question national myths. Themes politics national identity exceptionalism critique Mood critical thoughtful Type political analytical When to use this quote - elections - policy debates - civic education Key Concepts political theory social critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you think national myths help or hinder? - How can citizens embody positive exceptionalism? A Different Perspective Exceptionalism can inspire complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American exceptionalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-exceptionalism/) [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Exceptionalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exceptionalism/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [The position of the Americans is quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-position-of-the-americans-is-quite-exceptional-and-it-may-be/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [One way in which Americans have always been exceptional has been in our support for education. First we took the lead in universal primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/one-way-in-which-americans-have-always-been-exceptional-has-been-in/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [Gone is any mention of American exceptionalism. I happen to believe that twice, three times in the 20th century, the United States saved Western…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/gone-is-any-mention-of-american-exceptionalism-i-happen-to-believe/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [We don't have to apologize for American exceptionalism or western values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/we-don-t-have-to-apologize-for-american-exceptionalism-or-western/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [ Even Republicans seem to think that these undocumented Democrats could be made \[GOP\] voters...and what happens is that two out every three that would… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-king/even-republicans-seem-to-think-that-these-undocumented-democrats/) [Steve King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-king/) > [ America's military is the best in the world, but this president \[Barack Obama\] is hollowing out our military. We need a commander in chief… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/america-s-military-is-the-best-in-the-world-but-this-president-barack/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [ I think where \[Donald Trump\] loses most hawkish republicans is when he talking about how much he likes \[Vladimir\] Putin. That should make any… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-think-where-donald-trump-loses-most-hawkish-republicans-is-when-he/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Christian nation mythologists pump themselves up with narratives of American exceptionalism and Christian domination. But sooner or later even their most devoted followers should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-posner/christian-nation-mythologists-pump-themselves-up-with-narratives-of/) Sarah Posner > [You want to unify America with a sense of culture and decency and all of this that reasserts and reaffirms the concepts of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/you-want-to-unify-america-with-a-sense-of-culture-and-decency-and-all/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Post World War II America draws a great deal of interest, but the students also seem to know quite a bit about American exceptionalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-marandi/post-world-war-ii-america-draws-a-great-deal-of-interest-but-the/) [Mohammad Marandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-marandi/) > [American exceptionalism requires understanding biblical view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/american-exceptionalism-requires-understanding-biblical-view/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [People get tired of talking about American exceptionalism, but I think this is an extraordinary thing about the United States, that we are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-l-eck/people-get-tired-of-talking-about-american-exceptionalism-but-i-think/) [Diana L. Eck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-l-eck/) > [Our patriotic fervor was the result of the old and widespread belief in the idea of American exceptionalism, the idea that America was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/our-patriotic-fervor-was-the-result-of-the-old-and-widespread-belief/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [American exceptionalism, in the broad sense, is not a bunch of braggadocious words people say, "Yeah, we're better people. We have a better country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/american-exceptionalism-in-the-broad-sense-is-not-a-bunch-of/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The human condition for the vast majority of people on this planet for the entire time of what humanity has been here has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-human-condition-for-the-vast-majority-of-people-on-this-planet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) ## More by Maureen Dowd > [If there's one thing white men have never had a problem with in this clubby, white marble enclave of Washington, it's getting pulled up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/if-there-s-one-thing-white-men-have-never-had-a-problem-with-in-this/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [When you're young, and even at times when you're older, it's hard to fathom this: What needs to be nurtured is the stuff that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/when-you-re-young-and-even-at-times-when-you-re-older-it-s-hard-to/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Who knows? If women all end up with the same face and body, men may gravitate toward the quirky. Then the chicks with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/who-knows-if-women-all-end-up-with-the-same-face-and-body-men-may/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Why can't Google, which likes to see itself as a 'Don't Be Evil' benevolent force in society, just write us a big check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/why-can-t-google-which-likes-to-see-itself-as-a-don-t-be-evil/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Materialism has defeated feminism as well. In a sign of the times, Gloria Steinem was on the picket line when the first American DeBeers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/materialism-has-defeated-feminism-as-well-in-a-sign-of-the-times/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Romantic googling can be as dangerous as drunk text messaging. Of course hell hath no fury like a woman who Google-bombs her old flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/romantic-googling-can-be-as-dangerous-as-drunk-text-messaging-of/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Paul Ryan, who teamed up with Akin in the House to sponsor harsh anti-abortion bills, may look young and hip and new generation, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/paul-ryan-who-teamed-up-with-akin-in-the-house-to-sponsor-harsh-anti/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Obama invented himself against all odds and repeated parental abandonment, and he worked hard to regiment his emotions. But now that can come across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/obama-invented-himself-against-all-odds-and-repeated-parental/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Feminism died in 1998 when Hillary allowed henchlings and Democrats to demonize Monica as an unbalanced stalker, and when Gloria Steinem defended Mr. Clinton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/feminism-died-in-1998-when-hillary-allowed-henchlings-and-democrats/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [President Obama thinks he can use emotion to bring pressure on Congress. But that's not how adults with power respond to things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/president-obama-thinks-he-can-use-emotion-to-bring-pressure-on/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [ Now that Hillary \[Clinton\] has won Pennsylvania, it will take a village to help Obama escape from the suffocating embrace of his rival. Certainly… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/now-that-hillary-clinton-has-won-pennsylvania-it-will-take-a-village/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [I don't understand men. I don't even understand what I don't understand about men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/i-don-t-understand-men-i-don-t-even-understand-what-i-don-t/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Good and evil are not like the Redskins and the Cowboys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/good-and-evil-are-not-like-the-redskins-and-the-cowboys/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [And as far as doing God's work, I think the bankers who took government money and then gave out obscene bonuses are the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/and-as-far-as-doing-god-s-work-i-think-the-bankers-who-took/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [It is men's worst fear, personally and professionally, that women will pin the sin on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/it-is-men-s-worst-fear-personally-and-professionally-that-women-will/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) [Explore all 96 Maureen Dowd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) ## More American exceptionalism quotes > [I think that an attack of America, an attack on American exceptionalism by the media, which is real, has certainly undercut a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-travis/i-think-that-an-attack-of-america-an-attack-on-american/) [Clay Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-travis/) > [Young people in college - many living away from their parents for the first time in their lives - are particularly vulnerable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/young-people-in-college-many-living-away-from-their-parents-for-the/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [The human condition for the vast majority of people on this planet for the entire time of what humanity has been here has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-human-condition-for-the-vast-majority-of-people-on-this-planet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Yes, my friends, your hunger for history is still pretty segregated. Your knowledge of America often ends at the color line. You end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/yes-my-friends-your-hunger-for-history-is-still-pretty-segregated/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [American patriotism is now jingoism. American Greatness is made fun of. The concept of "Make America Great Again" or American exceptionalism is lampooned. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/american-patriotism-is-now-jingoism-american-greatness-is-made-fun-of/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Patton was ecstatic, writing home to Beatrice that “I know I am needed!” and “The Lord had a perfect cut for me and pulled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-s-m-lyon/patton-was-ecstatic-writing-home-to-beatrice-that-i-know-i-am-needed/) [Christopher S.M. Lyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-s-m-lyon/) > [ That \[American exceptionalism\] is a reaction to the inability of people to understand global complexity or important issues like American energy dependency. Therefore, they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/that-american-exceptionalism-is-a-reaction-to-the-inability-of-people/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [If people are being upstanding citizens of the Republic, then you have to widen the net to incarcerate them. This explains why America's prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-people-are-being-upstanding-citizens-of-the-republic-then-you-have/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [American exceptionalism, in the broad sense, is not a bunch of braggadocious words people say, "Yeah, we're better people. We have a better country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/american-exceptionalism-in-the-broad-sense-is-not-a-bunch-of/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The position of the Americans is quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-position-of-the-americans-is-quite-exceptional-and-it-may-be/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“But the biggest problem with being fed lies about how great we are is that people won't be prepared for how evil this government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aron-ra/but-the-biggest-problem-with-being-fed-lies-about-how-great-we-are-is/) [Aron Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aron-ra/) > [Our patriotic fervor was the result of the old and widespread belief in the idea of American exceptionalism, the idea that America was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/our-patriotic-fervor-was-the-result-of-the-old-and-widespread-belief/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [The notion of American exceptionalism is effective in part because there is little on the face of it that is offensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-feingold/the-notion-of-american-exceptionalism-is-effective-in-part-because/) [Russ Feingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-feingold/) > [People get tired of talking about American exceptionalism, but I think this is an extraordinary thing about the United States, that we are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-l-eck/people-get-tired-of-talking-about-american-exceptionalism-but-i-think/) [Diana L. Eck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-l-eck/) > [American exceptionalism requires understanding biblical view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/american-exceptionalism-requires-understanding-biblical-view/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) [Browse all 75 American exceptionalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-exceptionalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to Americans being exceptional.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maureen Dowd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-doesn-t-extend-to-americans-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American exceptionalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-doesn-t-extend-to-americans-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/maureen-dowd-6927_american-exceptional_the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-does_644615.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't extend to Americans being exceptional.” — Maureen Dowd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maureen Dowd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The idea of American exceptionalism doesn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-doesn-t-extend-to-americans-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/the-idea-of-american-exceptionalism-doesn-t-extend-to-americans-being/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```