America Isn't Perfect. But America is Good.

Much is said these days about our country’s flaws. On the day we celebrate America’s founding, I’ll spend a moment reflecting on its virtues.

Our country adopted a mission statement at birth that set a high bar, asserting that all men were created equal. This biblical precept in our Declaration was radical and reflected divine truth, not earthly reality. But gradually, and sometimes painfully, our own reality has inched closer to our founding vision. We’ve expanded the freedom of our own people and in the process of turning away from old sins, we’ve been building a better country—as evidenced by the influx of over 1 million new immigrants to our country every year.

We’ve also blessed other nations as we’ve used our growing power and influence to stand up for what’s right elsewhere. Perhaps our light never shone brighter than during WWII. We took it upon ourselves to save the world from genocidal fascism in the West and violent imperialism in the East, and after winning we did the unthinkable. We liberated our vanquished foes and turned them into free and prosperous nations. It cannot be overemphasized how remarkable this choice was. Military victors have always enslaved their conquests. This was a uniquely American decision.

Soon thereafter we took it upon ourselves to confront perhaps the most evil global ideology in history during the Cold War. For nearly half a century we stood resolutely against Marxism, a warped belief system whose countries killed 100 million of their own people in the 20th century. Communist states had to build walls to keep their on people in, and had America not chosen to confront this evil empire it is fair to say world history would’ve been different, and much darker.

After the end of the Cold War, the world has been blessed by almost three decades now of Pax Americana. The global spread of capitalism and trade, devised by the US and supported by our post-WWII institutions, has lifted billions out of poverty. From 1990 to 2015, the world’s extreme poverty rate fell from 36% to 10%. Economic growth lead to improved health care and longer lifespans.

This doesn’t happen without American leadership. Life around the globe would be much more nasty, brutish, and short without the United States.

America isn’t perfect, but America is good. We must remember this—and believe it—if we are to rise to the occasion over the decades ahead.

#AmericaIsGood