Recovering from the ill effects of American Exceptionalism will entail remembering things most Americans would rather forget. The “history” that shapes our political consciousness—and therefore legitimates the use of U.S. military and economic power—consists almost entirely of selectively remembered events. And while what we choose to remember, carefully curated to remove or conceal unbecoming details, may be convenient, the results come nowhere near to offering a complete and accurate record of the past.
