Ain't America Great!

The tendency among certain groups on the left is to act as though Europe is far more advanced than we are, and that our goal should be to catch up. I think this is essentially correct in some areas but wildly misguided on others. For example, I think that the casual multiculturalism of America is one of our most appealing and rightly cherished virtues. You hear about European countries banning burqas, but this never gets serious consideration here (outside of the wingnuttier circles). This is because we have two pretty awesome things going for us here:

1. Toleration
2. Freedom of expression

These are not exactly as popular in Europe, and I do think that the lack of a true "Americanist" ethnic identity is what is responsible for both of these truly positive attributes. Hell, even immigration restrictionists are generally careful to insure that they're perceived as only being against illegal immigration, though the extent to which it is true is debatable (and every once in a while there's a bona fide racist like Tom Tancredo who pops into the mix).

Anyway, I feel like I'm constantly talking about what I feel we can improve about America, so I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about something that is genuinely good about our country.