The idea of American exceptionalism has been present through much of American history. But the idea is often abstracted: The character and purpose of the United States are rendered as timeless and glorified attributes apart from the sinfulness and limits of history. In this response to Thomas Massaro’s essay, I examine the historicized nature of the idea in both a spirit of criticism and construction. If Catholic social ethics is to contribute to a renewal of the idea of American exceptionalism, it must do so in an historicized and contextual key.
