[cat_plus_plus]

The missing part of the story is that US may be exceptional, but also very vulnerable right now. People keep saying "guns/abortions are my right" (with equal extremes from opponents), why should I compromise at all? Well, framers of constitution compromised quite a bit on things they believed in and that caused problem later, but it's only through compromise that the nation came to exist and it's only through continued compromise that it can continue. Otherwise if living in an exceptional country is not making anyone happy, even morally it's better to have 50 less exceptional countries where people can come to some understanding rather than fighting all the time.