American Exceptionalism (the theory that the United States holds a special place among nations and hence a special right to act without the approval of the rest of the world) is as old as the country itself. While some identify it with excessive nationalism, ignorance of world events or even religious bigotry, it actually derives from revolutionary Jeffersonian ideals of individual liberty. In this respect, it is the opposite of nationalism, the antithesis of ignorance, and the inversion of bigotry.
Essentially, the US is not meant to be a nation of PEOPLE in the sense that other nations are: it is a nation of IDEAS, specifically the idea that men ought to be free to determine their own goals and achievements, and that this right exists BEYOND governmental authority, and ABOVE any mere "societal" objectives. These concepts are as clear as can be in the Declaration: "All men are created equal.. with certain inalienable rights." Notice that it does not say "All Americans...". They are further solidified in the Bill of Rights: "shall make NO law restricting the freedom of speech.. etc." While, for example, the Indian Constitution makes an exception for "the greater interests of the nation", the American constitution obvious clear that the "nation's" interests are to be subservient to individual interests.
Jefferson hoped that the United States would act as the catalyst for the formation of an "empire of liberty." This is not, as many whiners on the Left would have you believe, meant to be a military empire, but an empire in which the individual rights of all men would triumph over the tyrannical impulse of government. It is, therefore, the American prerogative to realize this dream, not merely for those living within our borders, but for every human being across the globe. It is a mandate, therefore, not to respect the wishes of other nations and their governments, but rather the rights of each individual within those nations. If even a single Iraqi, Sudanese or Tibetan is deprived of those rights, the United States has the revolutionary duty to free him from bondage and to protect him from future slavery; it matters not if the rest of his countrymen, or the "United Nations" disapprove.
