Last Wednesday evening, as I watched the end of a wonderful American victory in the World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina, it struck me.
The Americans in the stands, the players on the field, and even the U.S. squad’s Argentinian coach were singing “Country Roads” as if they were all from Morgantown, West Virginia. The U.S. had just beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in Santa Clara, California, and the whole place seemed to be singing along. In liberal California, in the middle of Silicon Valley, both the crowd and the U.S. squad were made up of people of multiple ethnicities and all ages . . . and all were singing the song with the same intensity of spirit associated with the national anthem or “Amazing Grace.”
The players embraced. Weston McKennie and others looked as if they wanted to be in the crowd to embrace their fellow Americans.
No left, no right. No Republicans or Democrats. No conservatives, liberals, or progressives. No black, brown, or white tied together only by race. No Christian, Muslim, Sikh, or Jew tied together only by religion. No Germans, Mexicans, Scots, Portuguese, Chinese, Iranians, or Sudanese tied together only by ethnicity.
It was something much more powerful: a common lived experience. The essence of our American identity.
The World Cup is a good backdrop for this because it brings out patriotism and nationalism in a way few things still do. Every country shows up with its flag, its songs, its pride, and its history. While France and England draw on squads largely representative of their colonial histories, the United States draws from something unique: the melting pot of America. And what melts, or melds, Americans together is not simply blood, race, religion, or politics. It is our common experience.
World Cup Visitors Experience the Comforts of America
World Cup visitors from around the globe are seeing the abundance, scale, weirdness, friendliness, and convenience of America. Maybe our food quality is not always great. Maybe we look like the land of Walmart, Target, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Costco, and Buc-ee’s. But there is also something very American about that level of abundance and convenience.
And then there are stories like Lawrence, Kansas, where the local community welcomed Algeria and its fans during the World Cup. FIFA even highlighted how Algeria felt at home there. Americans can be very welcoming.
That matters.
Because if you only listened to the news, social media, or the loudest politicians, you might expect visitors to find Americans rude, hostile, ignorant, or offensive. Instead, many find people who are curious, friendly, helpful, and happy they came. After all, we Americans have the secret ingredient that binds us together – our common experience.
America Doubters? Don’t You Believe Them
As America reaches 250 years old, there will be plenty of people telling us the country is finished. They will say we are too divided, too angry, too corrupt, too unequal, too far gone. Some Americans want to distance themselves from the country and some of the crappy things we do. Plenty of others are ready to dust off the old “empires last 250 years” argument, often traced to Sir John Bagot Glubb’s The Fate of Empires, and declare the American experiment near its expiration date. The Guardian has an article online today (July 4, 2026) entitled “America is destroying itself. It’s no surprise”.
It is no great revelation to say that the United States has its issues and perhaps hasn’t been at its best recently. But like Bruce Hornsby who sang about folks who say “that’s just The Way it Is, remember the next refrain in the song: “Don’t you believe them”.
Thus, if social media tells you to be worried that the current New York City mayor is a threat to American ideals because he is Muslim. Don’t you believe them. Argue with him on policy if you want. Argue about taxes, crime, socialism, Israel, policing, schools, or anything else. That is fair game. But don’t confuse political disagreement with the death of America.
If a blog or politician says the country is “done” based on a recent history of supporting Israel, threatening Canada, favoring the wealthy over the masses, or anything else, don’t you believe them. Exercise your civic duty to form a more perfect union, but don’t believe this is the end of the empire.
When the news, social media, and politicians pit one group of Americans against another, tune them out for a while. Don’t you believe them.
We argue. We screw things up. We fall for bad ideas. We let bad leaders and bad media divide us. Then, often later than we should, we find our way back. Don’t forget the old line attributed to Winston Churchill: “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” The attribution may be disputed, but the thought still works.
So today, on America’s 250th birthday, drink a beer or eat a burnt hot dog at a cookout, go shopping at a store that is open even on holidays, or stream a baseball game or World Cup match or Desperate Housewives on your big screen TV, and crank the A/C – you’ll need it! But most of all, remember for a moment that you are doing the ordinary things that make you love this country and your fellow Americans.
End of the empire? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Don’t you believe them. We have the secret weapon. Now go out and flex our common experience.