Re: Anyone know if this statement has a known origin? Archived Message Posted by Ken Waldron on January 16, 2020, 3:00 am, in reply to "Anyone know if this statement has a known origin?" Not got time to do more than a quick search but the idea has a longer history than the actual phrase it would seem: https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/good-american-politics-world-news-headlines-today-34430/ "Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it tries to be a force for good because it is exceptional". No year given but she was a "primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism Kennedy almost gets there in 1962: "...For space science, like nuclear science and technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war." https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/john-f-kennedy-quotations It had clearly become something of a trope used by many historians when John McCain stated that, “The United States is the greatest force for good in the world. We have not an obligation to go out and start wars but to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world.” https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Sins_of_Statecraft_-_The_War_on_Terror_Exposed -No year given again, unfortunately. Message Thread: "The United States, in my opinion, is a force for good in the world." - Morrissey January 15, 2020, 8:03 pm Anyone know if this statement has a known origin? - walter January 16, 2020, 12:05 am Re: Anyone know if this statement has a known origin? - Ken Waldron January 16, 2020, 3:00 am Thanks for responses to my query, sorry if I rerouted the thread - walter January 16, 2020, 6:15 pm U.S. presidents routinely repeat it. And so do late night talkback - Morrissey January 16, 2020, 4:20 am Re: U.S. presidents routinely repeat it. And so do late night talkback - Ian M January 16, 2020, 11:46 am Cosying up to Samantha Power... - Ian M January 16, 2020, 12:21 pm Re: Anyone know if this statement has a known origin? - brooks January 16, 2020, 11:43 am   Searching