From the start, Americans have told themselves a big story: that this nation is uniquely free, uniquely virtuous, divinely chosen—a shining “city on a hill.” That idea has mixed a healthy pride with exaggeration and denial. While inspiring courage and reform, it has also justified conquest, racism, and a stubborn refusal to learn anything from the rest of the world. How was the myth built? How has it been stretched and distorted, and what is it costing us today both at home and abroad?