December 21, 2025

Scratch any American and underneath you’ll find an isolationist.

Dean Rusk (1909–1994), American secretary of state, to British Foreign Secretary George Brown; Tony Benn diary 12 January 1968, Jay p.315

If you are an American, is this true of you? Why is it true of so many Americans?

Yes! Maybe it should read “many” rather than “any”, and American exceptionalism is at the root. Everyone thinks the U.S.A. is something special. It is, and more for this one reason than all others—it was the first nation to be born based on an idea, rather than dynastic success. No mean distinction. But then…well, nothing lasts forever.