I don’t see a rational argument against American exceptionalism. There are similarities, sure, but there really isn’t anything quite like America either in the modern world or in history. We’re exceptional. We’re weird. Any way you slice it, the United States of America is unlike any other nation-state ever.

Part of what makes us so exceptional is that we try to use our power for good, all over the planet. We’re the first boots on the ground of any disaster. We’re the first to hear the pleas of the oppressed, the poor and the refugee – even when we can’t directly intervene. Those in trouble head for the American embassy to plead their case to the only nation-state likely to care.

We supply humanitarian aid – food, supplies, know-how – in MASSIVE quantities worldwide every year. Not merely government aid – Americans have been known to drown economies with their generosity. Economic assistance, guidance and trade all flow from the United States to the poorest nations on Earth, often with little real prospect of reciprocation.

After Nine Eleven, countries that are all but destitute themselves sent aid to US. That wasn’t to curry favor – they knew they didn’t have a fraction of the wealth necessary to turn America’s head. It was a genuine gesture of compassion toward a nation-state that had helped so many. That to me more than anything else tells the story of just how exceptional America really is.

Policies come and go as they should. They change with changing circumstances. That’s normal and even a good plan. But being exceptional is also a responsibility. We can’t let our short term policy changes change who we are and the neighbor we are to others.

The world is changing. I doubt it becomes a multipolar world anytime soon. If anything, we’re likely to become more unipolar and the US even more powerful over the next few decades. The only thing likely to get in our way is us.

Isolationism is baked into the American pie. We are homebodies by nature. Maybe that’s part of what made us so safe for other nation-states to rely upon – we don’t mind coming to the party but we really do wanna go home soon as it’s over.

But it’s not 1789. We aren’t a back water that can let the rest of the world carry on without us. Oh, sure, we have the capability – but not the heart. We like tending our own business – but we’re not willing to turn a blind eye to bad things we can do something about. And we sure as heck aren’t willing to turn our backs on those dependent on us.

We’re also amazingly under-informed about international affairs – a direct result of our isolationistic tendencies and our natural expectation that everyone else can get along just like we can. The result is we vastly underestimate how important we are to the safety, security and lives of most people on this planet.

No, I’m not exaggerating. All those cheap trinkets from China get here courtesy of the United States Navy. No USN, no safe trade routes for anyone, anywhere. The IMF funds dozens of nation-states and tries to help them get on a better financial footing – which stops the instant the US takes its ball and goes home. Middle East oil? Going nowhere without both the US Navy and US firms providing expertise to this day.

Semiconductors? Taiwan makes US designs. Infrastructure projects? US expertise provides good, usable projects the world over.

Wanna sell your resources or your doodads? The US economy drives most of the international trade activity just from its gigantic consumer imports. A lot of stuff is traded between nation-states that ends up in US markets or in consumer markets protected by the US.

American can live without the rest of the world. It’d hurt but we can do it and be fine by the end. The rest of the world literally cannot live without us. Simply withdrawing US Naval support would economically cripple China – and starve countless millions worldwide. International trade depends on ocean security – that security is provided by the United States of America. Without us, trade breaks down fast – and lots of poor people starve.

We’re not trapped in a system of our own making. We can just quit. But if we do, we stop being the America that is exceptional. We become just another self-centered power hungry nation-state. We become the monster we hate.

But a truly unipolar world isn’t a good endgame. Eventually, we screw up and everyone suffers. That and we’re not smart enough to run the world – heck, we have trouble just running Congress.

For the moment, while Russia and China want to play authoritarian imperial bullies, the US has a duty to maintain her position and power and to use those to the best of her abilities to benefit the world and herself. But that won’t always be true. When the time comes that we can start to step away from being the world’s policeman, banker and life coach, we need to already have a game plan for how we do that so that as we step aside, we don’t leave a blackhole that destroys everyone else.

Straighten out our messes at home. Step up to the plate in international affairs. Help other, weaker nations start the road to prosperity. Be the exceptional nation we are – that’s the way to a better world and a world that doesn’t need us to fight all it’s brushfires.

We’ll still be there to help. It’s what we do.