Quote:
Originally Posted by Pio1980
our attitude toward our manifest destiny and exceptionalism came later and is with us now.
|
I think it's quite a stretch to attribute religious significance to Manifest Destiny and, in any event, it wasn't ever fully embraced by our leaders even early on.
American Exceptionalism is an equally high hurdle. The idea is that, because of our democratic institutions, our freedoms and our ideals, we are unique (exceptional) in the world. It wasn't intended to imply superiority or divine license. The former was a "gift" from the neo-cons and the latter came with Reaganism.