Over just the past few decades, the country has been convulsed by war, recession, homegrown violence, a once-in-a-century pandemic, economic disruption, rapid technological change, sweeping social and political movements, the rise of both a reactionary right-wing and illiberal left-wing, the pernicious effects of climate change, suffocating polarization, heated debates over immigration, and debates over what it even means to be an American.
As the United States approaches its 248th birthday, we should take the opportunity to remind ourselves of what it is that still makes America a country to be proud of and worth fighting for-and how we can impart this on future generations.
If we're to be the welcoming and inclusive country that so many American youth want to see, we should acknowledge that the vision of the founders, however imperfectly they practiced it, is worth remaining loyal to-and even bettering.
Many European countries are historically quite racially homogeneous, and across multiple measures, Europeans actually tend to have less favorable views of diversity and immigration than Americans do.
Although younger Americans may view the reality of living in a diverse country as an ordinary fact of life, it's actually an aberration from the norm.
According to a 2019 Cato Institute study, upwards of 70 percent of newcomers say they are "Proud of being American." They are also far less likely than native-born Americans to say they are "Ashamed of some aspects of America." And immigrants were 10 points likelier than natives to say that "The world would be better if people from other countries were more like Americans."
In a 2023 survey of 24 high- and middle-income countries, the Pew Research Center gauged global attitudes on American versus Chinese leadership.
https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/the-american-experiment-is-still
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