“I’m here at a moment when the opportunity to build a constructive, peaceful world order is very great.” These are the words that Henry Kissinger said on October 10 during a brief photo opportunity in the Oval Office just before sitting down for a discussion with President Trump.(1) There was no subsequent press release or reporting about what exactly was discussed at the meeting, though the president did say “we’re going to learn a lot.” Trump praised Kissinger as “ a man of

The term “American Exceptionalism” has quite a complex history. It is unclear who first coined the phrase or what its original intention was, but it has at times been used to insult or to inflate the reputation of the country. The 19th-Century French political scientist, historian, and aristocrat, Alexis de Tocqueville did use “exceptional” and “America” in the same sentence, but not as pleasantly as common knowledge would lead you to believe. It was actually used in a wider