I’ve written this before, I don’t know if we’re the greatest country in the world. I think at times we’re the greatest country in the world. I think we can be the greatest country in the world. I think we’re the most unique country in the world. So if I was to make the argument we are indeed the greatest country in the world, I would say it’s because of our uniqueness.
It’s a uniqueness I really can’t explain, I just know people from all around the world are drawn to it. And I’m not talking about the oppressed and the down trodden. Throughout my lifetime, I’ve run across people who came to this country from other countries who I would guess had it just as good — if not better — in the country they came from.
Yet their desire wasn’t just to come to America, but to live in America. And eventually many of them became American citizens. Was it for the freedom? I doubt it. They surely had just as much freedom — if not more freedom — in the country they came from.
They came for their own version of the American Dream, I guess. The song “New York, New York” states if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. My guess is that’s the way many people from other countries feel. Yes, I’ve made it here, but if I make it in America, I’ve really done something, and I can make it anywhere.
I once interviewed a student-athlete who accepted a scholarship to Notre Dame and when I asked why he chose Notre Dame, he said, “It’s Notre Dame.”
If I asked someone from another country whey they came to America, my guess is they would say, “It’s America.”
Maybe we’re the greatest country in the world, maybe we’re not. But on this Independence Day, there’s no other place on this earth I’d rather be. And there’s a lot of people from other countries who feel the same way.
— Charles Whisnand
