Exceptionalism always carries with it the danger of supremacism and once that gets you as individual, group or country there is a constant desire to find the 'l

Exceptionalism always carries with it the danger of supremacism and once that gets you as individual, group or country there is a constant desire to find the 'logic and evidence' to support the position post-facto. Identity becomes deeply entwined with protecting the purity of the 'exceptional group' with an unhealthy reductive interest in judging others and clearly demarcating the 'unexceptional'. This is a very negative space. The problem with sweeping articles like this is it requires intense engagement with history, reason and reflection to escape the generalization and find a truth you can be comfortable with. No one can define you, you can always choose what you want to be. On a wider level people have always been led and as long as exceptionalism remains a low key 'motivator' it works but its a dangerous game as the lines can blur pretty quickly.