I think it was twenty-one years ago now that a friend told me this:

"America sucks, but it's the greatest nation on Earth."

It was a deeply depressing and cynical teenage take on things, but it captures some basic truths.

They may not be self-evident, but history shows them.

America isn't perfect, and never has been perfect. We'd like to be better. We've always aspired to be better.

At the same time, if you put other nations under the same microscope, you will see many of the same flaws, and some that America lacks.

America isn't an evil nation.

This is especially clear when we look at the scope of history.

For all the flaws and missteps of the Framers - Jefferson's own glaringly obvious hypocrisy - the march they led mostly staggered forward towards the light.

America's flaws of the past are not so exceptional.

In recent decades, we've charted some new territory. I'm not pleased with the growth in economic inequality and the spread of dysfunction in [higher] education and health care systems.

Even so, there's still a lot to be proud of. And I don't think we should regret independence.

My friend's attitude was common at the time among the young, I think. In part and in full.

When we were going through school, we got mixed messages about America. Some of the good, some of the ugly.

From what I see now, there's a lot of exclusive focus on the ugly.

It's far easier to tell a story without nuance.