Americans certainly aren't the source of arrogance nor its sole practitioners. But the phrase "American exceptionalism" is a thing for a reason. And if other s

Americans certainly aren't the source of arrogance nor its sole practitioners. But the phrase "American exceptionalism" is a thing for a reason. And if other societies through history may also have indulged in similar thinking, it functions more to demonstrate how a comparable place in the world can present comparable temptations more than it serves to refute the existence or problems of exceptionalist thinking among Americans. Religious fervor may, of course, play a greater role (something I'm personally acquainted with as someone who was also involved in evangelism once). The combination of background cultural exceptionalism doesn't help, though.