We have been afforded a remarkable inheritance. Our first task is simply not to screw it up.
When asked to express what I feel about America, I am reminded of hungry parents at a kids’ birthday party when they are told that they, too, can have some pizza. What I want to do is punch the air and shout, “Yes!” What I am supposed to do — in mixed company, at least — is sidle up to the table and act as if I could take it or leave it. Showing untrammeled appreciation for anything, you see, is frowned on these days. It is de rigueur to be detached.
Well, to hell with all that. I’m going to jump around and shout my appreciation.
I love this country. I think that it is, hands down, the greatest country in the world and, hands down, the greatest country that there has ever been in the world. I love its people. I love its culture. It love its geography. I love its constitutional order. I love its food. If you, too, cherish these things and would like to see us continue to defend the American project, well, then — please chip in to National Review’s “Defending America” webathon, as we mark Year 250.
For some reason, I have always loved these things. Since I was a little kid, there was something about the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge and the Mojave Desert that appealed to me simply because they were American. As far as I can recall, I have for my entire life wanted to be a part of it.
And now I am.
But something funny happens to you on the way to becoming a citizen: You suddenly become aware that it could all go away. At a remove, America seems impregnable. Up close, you see the fissures. Up close, you realize that it needs to be actively sustained — that it has always been actively sustained. As an immigrant, this fills me with gratitude. All Americans owe a great debt to those who built this remarkable world, but immigrants owe the greatest debt of all. I moved here in 2011, which means that, up to that point, every single load-bearing sacrifice that was made was made not only by someone who is not me, but by someone who had no plausible connection to me whatsoever.
I am determined to do what I can to pass this on. And there is no better place to do that than here at National Review. We understand that the United States is not perfect. We also understand that there is a massive gap between acknowledging that imperfection and declining to appreciate its unparalleled greatness. Simply put, we reject the naysaying on both the left and the right. We do not believe that America needs to abandon its Constitution or its free enterprise system or its Judeo-Christian ethic. We do not think that America is “broken” or that it has been “hijacked” or that it is “outmoded.” We do not contend that America is one politician away from being a paradise, or that America is worthy of celebration only when the people we like are in power. We have strong views on politics, because we understand that all worthwhile things are fragile. But we do not confuse politics for civil society, or propose that the government can be the savior of all things.
We have been afforded a remarkable inheritance. Our first task is simply not to screw it up.
That is more difficult than you’d think. Negativity and simplicity sell. Utopian schemes gain more purchase than they deserve. Ingratitude is an indelible temptation. This is where you come in. Since 1955, we have relied on the voluntary help of our subscribers and readers. If you can contribute to the cause — our cause — please click here.
Thank you for your support.
