Often misread as an expression of national arrogance, “American exceptionalism” denotes a sociological fact. The US differs from other advanced democracies in two respects above all – religiosity and suspicion of state power. The former moved to the centre of American politics in the decade just ended; the latter may well dominate the decade just begun. The lack of trust in government has framed, and weakened, the Obama presidency thus far. And rebuilding trust may well be the administration's most important political task.
儘管經常被誤讀爲國家自大的表現，但「美國特殊論」代表著一種社會學現實。美國與其它先進民主國家的不同，主要體現在兩個方面——對宗教的虔誠和對國家權力的懷疑。前者在剛剛結束的10年裏轉移到美國政治的中心；後者很有可能主宰剛剛開始的10年。迄今爲止，美國人缺乏對政府的信任，已經框定並削弱了歐巴馬的總統任期。重建信任很可能是歐巴馬政府最重要的政治任務。
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