[bitshiftfaced]

The "misunderstanding" that the parent poster was referring to was the meaning of "exceptionalism."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the misunderstanding that you seem to be referring to is whether or not the nation actually is the thing that people misunderstood exceptionalism to mean, which is "great," "superior," etc. That's more of an opinion, so I wouldn't say "misunderstanding" is the right word for it.

[starkd]

Many people use the phrase with the assumption of extraordinary greatness or superiority. Like in that aaron sorkin video clip the article references. Exceptional can mean better performance or better results, but it can also mean that its exceptional to the rule of what a nation state was traditionally founded on. That's what the revolutionary origin of it intended. The criticism people make of it is founded on a strawman, because it was never meant that America is superior.