America is Exceptional (Even Though Most Americans Aren’t)

by Don Hall

America is an idea wrapped in a paradox. It is the land of boundless opportunity, yet home to millions who refuse to seize it. It is the birthplace of individual liberty, yet shackled by the weight of its own myths. It is a nation that has built, innovated, and conquered like no other, yet largely composed of people who couldn’t change a tire if their lives depended on it.

And yet—despite all this—America is, without question, exceptional.

Now, let’s not confuse exceptional with perfect or even mostly competent. America’s exceptionalism has never depended on the competence, intelligence, or even the basic moral decency of its people. If it did, we’d have collapsed in on ourselves decades ago. No, what makes America exceptional is its sheer force of momentum, its relentless ability to innovate, adapt, and reinvent itself—even while a staggering number of its citizens scroll TikTok with the attention span of goldfish in a blender.

1. America Invented the Future and Then Forgot Where It Put It

If you look at the last 249 years, nearly every major leap in human progress has come from America. The automobile, the airplane, the microchip, the internet, jazz, rock & roll, the moon landing—all ours. Even the goddamn cheeseburger, the pinnacle of culinary efficiency, is a uniquely American creation.

And yet, Americans themselves? The vast majority have no fucking idea how any of these things actually work. They demand Wi-Fi on airplanes and lose their minds when the connection drops, despite the fact that they are literally in a chair, in the sky, hurtling through the atmosphere at 600 mph.

This is the great contradiction of American exceptionalism: the country has produced the most brilliant minds in history while also housing an ever-growing population that gets its news from memes and thinks microwaving a metal spoon is a good idea.

2. America is Built for Winners—But It Lets Losers Hang Around

The American Dream is not, as many assume, a guarantee of success. It is a part of our collective mythology with so many caveats in place that it is less a dream and more a fairy tale. It is simply the guarantee of a chance. And some people—maybe most people—will squander that chance like a teenager handed a credit card with no spending limit.

Despite that, the system persists. The country does not grind to a halt because of its failures. It doesn’t even slow down. It absorbs them. Because while some people are destined to create Amazon, Tesla, or Apple, others are destined to binge-watch Netflix in their parents’ basement while complaining about capitalism on Twitter X.

And here’s the kicker—America lets them. Unlike other civilizations that have historically purged the weak, the incompetent, or the lazy, we keep them around. They don’t have to contribute. They don’t have to improve themselves. They don’t even have to be grateful for the absurd level of comfort and freedom they enjoy.

And yet, the system still works. It still churns out new discoveries, new technologies, and new cultural phenomena that shape the world. Because for every 1,000 people who waste their potential, there’s one who invents the next world-changing technology. And in America, one is enough.

3. America Fails Spectacularly—and Then Comes Back Stronger

America doesn’t fail quietly. Oh no. When America screws up, it does it in spectacular fashion. The Great Depression? A financial catastrophe so epic it should have ended us. Vietnam? A war we had no business fighting, fought in the most absurdly self-defeating way imaginable. The 2008 financial crisis? We turned the entire global economy into a casino and somehow acted surprised when the house burned down.

And yet, every single time, we bounce back.

Failure in America is not terminal. It is not an end—it is fuel. It is, in many ways, a rite of passage. You have to fail in order to succeed here. And when America fails on a grand scale, it inevitably gives birth to something new, something stronger, something better.

Other countries hold onto their failures like grudges. America metabolizes them and turns them into the next big thing.

4. America is a Circus—But the Greatest Show on Earth

Let’s be honest: America is insane.

It is a country where billionaires build rocket ships while millions live paycheck to paycheck. Where people will camp outside a Best Buy for 48 hours to save $50 on a TV but won’t bother to vote in an election that actually affects their lives. Where freedom is so ingrained in the national psyche that some people would rather die than wear a seatbelt.

But for all the chaos, for all the contradictions, America is never, ever boring.

Think about it: No one wakes up in Norway wondering if today is the day the entire country implodes. Their news cycle is a three-day discussion about cheese regulations. Meanwhile, America’s headlines look like a Mad Libs experiment gone wrong.

The sheer energy of this place is unmatched. It is loud, messy, and often ridiculous, but it is never static. It is alive. And that, in and of itself, is exceptional.

5. America is the Only Country Where Reinvention is a National Sport

One of the most remarkable things about America is that you are never stuck being who you were yesterday.

Want to go from trailer park poverty to billionaire CEO? It’s happened. Want to go from a reality TV star to President of the United States? Well, that’s happened too (for better or worse). Wanna escape one of those other countries for the possibility of immigrating to the Land of Milk & Honey, Advertising & Grift? It’s getting a bit more difficult thanks to the former TV star but it’s still quite easy.

In America, reinvention is not just possible—it’s expected. The country thrives on new beginnings, second chances, and the unshakable belief that tomorrow can be better than today.

Most societies are weighed down by their past, by old traditions, by rigid social structures that dictate what people can and cannot do. America bulldozes those barriers like a drunk guy on a jet ski crashing into a dock.

And that is what makes this country exceptional.

The Verdict: The System Works, Even If Most People Don’t

So, yes—most Americans are not exceptional. They are not brilliant innovators, self-made successes, or paragons of wisdom. Many are apathetic, uninformed, and driven by immediate gratification.

But America itself is exceptional precisely because it does not need the majority of its people to be exceptional. It only needs enough of them—just enough—to keep pushing forward, to keep inventing, to keep driving the story of human progress forward.

And that, my friends, is why no matter how much dysfunction, stupidity, and sheer lunacy exists within its borders, America still leads the world.

It is, in the truest sense, the greatest show on Earth—and despite everything, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.