Simon Winchester : U.S. 's military patrols the world , unlike that of any other nation . He says the belief in Americans exceptionalism goes back to the frontier days . Americans saw themselves as tamers of an uncharted , untamed wilderness , he says . Simon Winchester : Simon Winchester could learn a lot about exceptionalism if he studied America history .
Simon Winchester : America 's military patrols the world , unlike that of any other nation . He says the belief in American exceptionalism goes back to the frontier days . Americans saw themselves as tamers of an uncharted , untamed wilderness , he says . Winchester : Vladimir Putin could learn a lot about exceptionalism if he studied U.S. history .