Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 0%
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 0%
• Representativeness Heuristic - 0%
• Hindsight Bias - 0%
• Overconfidence Bias - 0.4% (14 hits)
• Framing Effect - 5.9% (190 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 0%
• Status Quo Bias - 0%
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 1% (31 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 0%

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250 Things We Love About America

The rush of day-to-day obligations and the occasional frustrations and disappointments of contemporary American life pose the risk that, at times, even the most ardent patriots among us may forget to pause and appreciate this extraordinary country.

That danger is worsened by the negative onslaught from the press, the universities, and the museum world.

They misleadingly depict America as thoroughly surpassed by China, following 250 years of U.S. racism, sexism, classism, and settler-colonial dispossession of the indigenous population.

That demands a response.

So, to mark July 4, what follows is a partial, personal, and admittedly idiosyncratic list documenting some of the infinite reasons to be proud of America.

We could go on, but we also wanted to leave room for you to add your own favorites.

One of the many great things about America, after all, is the freedom we have, within wide bounds, to each adore it in our own ways.

<em>History</em>

<strong>1.

The Declaration of Independence. </strong>America was founded 250 years ago with a document that included what Walter Isaacson calls "the greatest sentence ever crafted by human hand": "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Also high on the list of world’s greatest ever word combinations is the passage that follows: "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

<strong>2.

The Constitution.</strong> With its enumerated powers, checks and balances, and provision for continual improvement via the amendment process, the Constitution lives up to its preamble’s promise to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

<strong>3.

The Bill of Rights.</strong> From the first freedom—of religion—through the Second Amendment right to bear arms, the Fifth Amendment protections against takings, the whole list makes America a land of freedom.

<strong>4.

The First Amendment.</strong> Deserves its own mention.

<strong>5.

The Second Amendment.</strong>

<strong>6.

The Fifth Amendment.</strong>

<strong>7.

The Emancipation Proclamation.</strong> We freed the slaves.

<strong>8.

The 13th Amendment.</strong> We freed the slaves.

The 2012 Steven Spielberg movie <em>Lincoln</em> does a nice job of telling this story.

<strong>9.

President Abraham Lincoln.</strong>

<strong>10.

The Gettysburg Address.</strong> "We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

<strong>11.

Calvin Coolidge and his Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon.</strong> They brought the top marginal income tax rate down to 25 percent from 77 percent, unleashing the roaring 1920s.

<strong>12.

The World War II victory.</strong> We beat the Nazis and the Japanese.

No small thing.

<strong>13.

Apollo 11.</strong> We put men on the moon.

<strong>14.

The Cold War victory.</strong> We beat the Soviet Communists and freed the captive nations.

No small thing.

<strong>15.

President Ronald Reagan.</strong> Called the "evil empire" what it was, inspiring its defeat.

Cut the top marginal individual income tax rate to 28 percent from 70 percent.

<strong>16.

We killed Osama bin Laden.</strong> This happened during the Obama presidency, reportedly over the objection of Joe Biden.

America is so good at killing terrorists.

<strong>17.

We killed Qassem Soleimani.</strong> This happened during the first Trump administration.

America is so good at killing terrorists.

<strong>18.

The Army.</strong>

<strong>19.

The Navy.</strong>

<strong>20.

The Air Force.</strong>

<strong>21.

The Marines.</strong>

<strong>22.

Veterans.</strong>

<strong>23.

World War II veterans.</strong> The greatest generation.

<strong>24.

Vietnam veterans.</strong> Not John Kerry, but the rest of them.

<strong>25.

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. </strong>

<strong>26.

The heroes of the Civil Rights era.</strong>

<strong>27.

Rosa Parks.</strong>

<strong>28.

James Meredith.</strong>

<strong>29.

Ruby Bridges.</strong>

<strong>30.

Martin Luther King Jr.</strong>

<strong>31.

A.

Philip Randolph.</strong>

<strong>32.

John Lewis.</strong>

<em>Flags</em>

<strong>33.

The American flag.</strong>

<strong>34.

The American flag hanging off the front porch of a private residence.</strong>

<strong>35.

The American flag hanging at a corporate headquarters.</strong>

<strong>36.

The American flag in the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in Manhattan.</strong>

<em>Politics and Government</em>

<strong>37.

Military spouses.</strong>

<strong>38.

The Iowa Caucuses.</strong>

<strong>39.

The New Hampshire presidential primary. </strong>

<strong>40.

The South Carolina presidential primary.</strong> Democracy in action.

<strong>41.

Justice Clarence Thomas.</strong> After an early childhood in a one-room shack in Pinpoint, Georgia, with no running water, Thomas landed on the U.S.

Supreme Court, where he has been a distinctive voice for the rule of law and against wallowing in identity politics and group victimhood.

<strong>42.

Justice Antonin Scalia.</strong> Author of the great dissent in <em>Morrison</em> v. <em>Olson</em>, in which he warned that an independent counsel could affect the very "boldness of the president."

With Thomas and Justice Alito, paved the path for a welcome reset to reason on the High Court after years of overly imaginative liberal activism.

<strong>43.

Jack Kemp.</strong> Not a household name anymore, but this congressman and former Buffalo Bills quarterback was as a 2015 biography put it, "positive, optimistic, idealistic, energetic, growth- and opportunity-oriented."

One of the key Reagan tax cut bills is also known as the Kemp-Roth tax cut after Kemp, who championed it in the House of Representatives and who wanted to cut taxes even faster and steeper than did Reagan, who wasn’t exactly timid when it came to tax cuts.

<strong>44.

Steve Forbes.</strong> Pro-growth Republican presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000 championed a flat tax.

I still have a "capitalist tool" necktie he gave me as a gift that is an emblem of the cheerful embrace of free enterprise that characterized his campaign.

<strong>45.

Newt Gingrich.</strong> His "Contract with America" and cassette tapes for training candidates helped to win control of Congress by Republicans in the 1994 elections, eventually leading to the enactment of welfare reform and a reduction in the capital gains tax rate.

<strong>46.

Money in politics.</strong> Money is speech.

Speech is good.

At best, spending can help unpopular minorities defend their own interests by persuading others.

<strong>47.

President Donald Trump.</strong> Disagree or cringe even on the policies, the style, the personality cult, the expansive view of executive power, but how can one not find some admiration for the grit, the energy, the relentlessness that Trump brings, after all the indictments and criminal investigations and assassination attempts and a lost election and corporate bankruptcies?

The number of questions he takes from the press, the provocative sense of humor, the "wrecking-ball" ambition to reshape things rather than merely tinker around the edges, the dance moves at the end of the campaign rallies.

<strong>48.

The Customs and Border Protection officer</strong> who says "welcome home" when you arrive back in the country after a trip abroad.

<strong>49.

National Park Rangers</strong> in Smokey-the-Bear hats who do a good job of telling America’s story at battlefields and historic parks.

<em>Business</em>

<strong>50.

Billionaires.</strong> America has by far the most billionaires in the world, nearly a thousand of them, <em>Forbes</em> says.

America creates fortunes, or provides the conditions for individuals and companies to create them, better than anywhere else.

<strong>51.

Elon Musk.</strong> Unconventional personal life, but he’s a trillionaire for a reason—the markets respect his proven ability to innovate, execute, and scale with products from rockets to electric cars to the X platform.

<strong>52.

Big Tech.</strong> This is controversial because a lot of the employees are woke and some of the products are biased or bad for you somehow, but on a net basis, these technology companies are so valuable and powerful because they offer useful products that provide value to customers.

The world’s big technology companies are largely American ones.

<strong>53.

Apple.</strong> These guys figured out how to put a camera, a video camera, music, a credit card, email, and so much other useful stuff all in a reasonably priced phone-sized package, and then made stores where you could go in and have them fixed if needed.

<strong>54.

Amazon.</strong>

<strong>55.

Google.</strong> Just Google Maps is an amazing thing for those of us old enough to remember stopping to ask for directions, getting lost, or driving with a stack of paper maps in the glove compartment.

<strong>56.

Big Pharma.</strong> Johnson &amp; Johnson, Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, AbbVie, Amgen, Moderna.

So many of the medicines and medical devices curing diseases worldwide are the products of American companies.

Complain away about the FDA approval process or overly aggressive sales reps or advertising spending or the prices; even so, it’s better that America is healing our own patients and the world.

<strong>57.

Wall Street.</strong> Bankers get demonized and people complain about financialization crowding out old-fashioned manufacturing, but American capital markets are underwriting innovation, helping people save for retirement and homeownership, efficiently allocating capital, and running training programs that serve as ladders of upward mobility.

<strong>58.

Big Oil.</strong> Another demonized industry, but here, too, risk-taking and innovation power abundance.

<strong>59.

Hollywood.</strong> Not the far-left "Hollywood values" Hollywood of the conservative imagination but the Hollywood of romantic comedies and action-movie blockbusters—<em>Top Gun</em>, <em>Star Wars</em>, <em>A Few Good Men</em>, <em>The Hunt for Red October</em>, <em>Legally Blonde</em>, <em>Casablanca</em>, <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark</em>.

The Hollywood where Ronald Reagan built a career before entering politics.

<strong>60.

McDonald’s.</strong>

<strong>61.

Starbucks.</strong>

<strong>62.

Dunkin’.</strong>

<strong>63.

Your local dry cleaner.</strong> Probably a family-owned business.

<strong>64.

The auto mechanic.</strong> Keeping your older used car running.

<strong>65.

Federal Express. </strong>

<strong>66.

The Defense Industry.</strong> Not only the entrenched incumbents but also the aspiring new entrants.

<strong>67.

Defense industry lobbyists.</strong>

<strong>68.

Costco.</strong>

<strong>69.

Walmart.</strong>

<strong>70.

Home Depot.</strong>

<strong>71.

"Big Box" stores generally.</strong> Tributes to American abundance, not scarcity.

<strong>72.

Factory outlet malls.</strong> America loves a bargain.

<strong>73.

"Black Friday."</strong>

<em>Culture and Geography</em>

<strong>74.

New York City.</strong> This is controversial because the city’s current mayor is basically a communist who hates Israel.

But the city itself—the skyscraper forest of Manhattan, Wall Street, Broadway, Central Park, Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Carnegie Hall—is even in its current diminished state a marvel.

Placing the government capital in Washington unleashed New York to be the business and cultural capital, with density and energy shaped by the geography of the Island of Manhattan.

<strong>75.

The New York Police Department and its commissioner Jessica Tisch.</strong>

<strong>76.

Police, generally.</strong>

<strong>77.

Firefighters.</strong>

<strong>78.

Palm Beach.</strong> Good government at the state level in Florida and Trump’s presence at Mar-a-Lago, along with the exodus from New York, have turned this old money backwater into a dynamic seasonal center of American vitality.

<strong>79.

West Palm Beach. </strong>

<strong>80.

Miami.</strong>

<strong>81.

Texas.</strong>

<strong>82.

Silicon Valley.</strong> Also controversial (see the "Big Tech" entry) but the innovation, the wealth creation, the culture of hard work, reputations, trust, informality are something the rest of the world wishes it could emulate.

<strong>83.

Disney World.</strong> This may be controversial among those who complain Disney has gone too woke, but between Main Street USA and the Hall of Presidents and the idea that you can see the world by visiting the World Showcase at Epcot rather than having actually to leave America, it’s quintessentially American.

<strong>84.

Robert L.

Bartley.</strong> Quiet product of Iowa edited the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> editorial page from 1972 to 2002.

Author of <em>The Seven Fat Years: And How to Do It Again</em>, a book about economic policy in the Reagan years.

<strong>85.

Charles Krauthammer.</strong> A speechwriter for Jimmy Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, Krauthammer somewhat improbably became, on Fox News and in his columns, a leading conservative voice on national security and cultural issues.

<strong>86.

Voluntary charities.</strong> Not vast, highly professionalized government contractors that become part of the poverty-industrial complex, but your local church soup kitchen, the groups fundraising to help with weddings or IVF costs or to research cures for obscure diseases.

<em>Economics</em>

<strong>87.

Milton Friedman.</strong>

<strong>88.

Arthur Laffer,</strong> whose "Laffer Curve" showed that cutting rates could increase tax revenues by spurring growth.

<strong>89.

Ludwig Von Mises.</strong> Austrian-born free-market economist and mentor of Friedrich Hayek came to America and taught at NYU.

<strong>90.

Thomas Sowell.</strong>

<em>Sports</em>

<strong>91.

Baseball.</strong>

<strong>92.

Baseball day games.</strong>

<strong>93.

Baseball on the radio.</strong>

<strong>94.

The sounds of baseball—a ball hitting the leather of a mitt or the wood of a bat.</strong>

<strong>95.

The New York Yankees.</strong>

<strong>96.

Yankee Stadium.</strong>

<strong>97.

The Boston Red Sox.</strong>

<strong>98.

Fenway Park.</strong>

<strong>99.

Jackie Robinson.</strong>

<strong>100.

Lou Gehrig.</strong>

<strong>101.

Cal Ripken Jr.</strong>

<strong>102.

Babe Ruth.</strong> Spent his childhood in a Baltimore orphanage.

<strong>103.

Sandy Koufax.</strong> Wouldn’t pitch Game One of the 1965 World Series on Yom Kippur.

<strong>104.

Little League.</strong>

<strong>105.

Volunteer youth sports coaches.</strong>

<strong>106.

Minor league baseball.</strong>

<strong>107.

Basketball.</strong>

<strong>108.

Michael Jordan.</strong>

<strong>109.

Larry Bird.</strong>

<strong>110.

Basketball hoops mounted over suburban garage doors.</strong>

<strong>111.

The slam dunk.</strong>

<strong>112.

Football.</strong>

<strong>113.

The Green Bay Packers.</strong>

<strong>114.

The Dallas Cowboys.</strong>

<strong>115.

The Super Bowl.</strong>

<strong>116.

Super Bowl commercials.</strong>

<strong>117.

Tom Brady.</strong>

<strong>118.

Paul "Bear" Bryant.</strong>

<strong>119.

The 1980 U.S.

Olympic Hockey Team.</strong> Beat the Soviet Union at Lake Placid.

<em>Music</em>

<strong>120.

John Philip Sousa.</strong>

<strong>121.

The U.S.

Marine Band.</strong>

<strong>122.

The Boston Pops playing "Stars and Stripes Forever."</strong>

<strong>123.

Jazz.</strong>

<strong>124.

Country music.</strong>

<strong>125.

Carnegie Hall.</strong>

<strong>126.

Tanglewood.</strong>

<strong>127.

Neil Diamond singing "America."</strong>

<strong>128.

Dave Brubeck’s "Take Five."</strong>

<strong>129.

Benny Goodman’s "Sing, Sing, Sing" from his 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert.</strong>

<strong>130.

George Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue." </strong>

<strong>131.

Duke Ellington’s "Caravan" and "Take the A Train."</strong>

<strong>132.

Frank Sinatra’s "My Way."</strong>

<strong>133.

Louis Armstrong’s "What a Wonderful World."</strong>

<strong>134.

Simon and Garfunkel’s "Mrs.

Robinson," "Homeward Bound," and "Cecilia."</strong>

<strong>135.

Billy Joel’s "Piano Man" and "Uptown Girl."</strong>

<strong>136.

Paul Simon’s "Graceland" and "You Can Call Me Al."</strong>

<strong>137.

Lyle Lovett’s "That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)."</strong>

<strong>138.

Garth Brooks’s "Friends In Low Places."</strong>

<strong>139.

Patsy Cline’s "Crazy." </strong>

<strong>140.

"My Favorite Things" by Rodgers and Hammerstein.</strong>

<strong>141. <em>Fiddler on the Roof</em> the musical.</strong>

<strong>142.

"Fiddler on the Roof" by Cannonball Adderley.</strong>

<strong>143. <em>Hamilton</em> the musical.</strong>

<em>Architecture</em>

<strong>144.

The Chrysler Building.</strong>

<strong>145.

Philip Johnson’s Glass House.</strong>

<strong>146.

Fallingwater.</strong>

<strong>147.

Front porches with rocking chairs or swings.</strong>

<strong>148.

Garages.</strong>

<strong>149.

The Brooklyn Bridge.</strong>

<strong>150.

The Golden Gate Bridge.</strong>

<strong>151.

Mount Vernon. </strong>Monticello is a little too fancy for my taste.

Mount Vernon manages to be grand but also rustically functional at the same time.

<strong>152.

The Reagan Ranch north of Santa Barbara. </strong>With the General Electric appliances from Reagan’s days as a GE spokesman.

Stunning for its remote elegance and simplicity.

<strong>153.

The Alamo.</strong>

<strong>154.

The Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park.</strong>

<strong>155.

The Ahwanee hotel in Yosemite National Park.</strong>

<em>Visual Art</em>

<strong>156.

Norman Rockwell’s "The Problem We All Live With" and "I Will Do My Best."</strong>

<strong>157.

Edward Hopper’s "Nighthawks."</strong>

<strong>158.

Quilts.</strong> American folk art.

<em>Women</em>

<strong>159.

Kate Upton.</strong> My editors insisted I put her on the list.

<strong>160.

Amy Coney Barrett.</strong> Taught at Notre Dame Law School.

The real deal.

<strong>161.

Jeane Kirkpatrick.</strong> Reagan’s ambassador at the United Nations.

<strong>162.

Elise Stefanik and Virginia Foxx.</strong> Stood up against campus antisemitism.

<strong>163.

Sydney Sweeney.</strong>

<em>Food</em>

<strong>164.

Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.</strong>

<strong>165.

Ice cream.</strong> Not gelato.

<strong>166.

Ice cream served by a teenager from the window of a place that is closed during the winter.</strong>

<strong>167.

Soft-serve ice cream.</strong> Not frozen yogurt.

<strong>168.

Dairy Queen.</strong> With the chocolate "dip" that solidifies as it cools and probably has plenty of chemicals in it but tastes good with the vanilla soft serve.

<strong>169.

Maple syrup.</strong> This is an American product, not a Canadian one, though if America takes over Canada as Trump has proposed that point will be moot.

<strong>170.

Apple pie.</strong> Not a "galette."

<strong>171.

Apple pie with ice cream.</strong>

<strong>172.

Rhubarb pie.</strong>

<strong>173.

Rhubarb pie with ice cream.</strong>

<strong>174.

Blueberry pie.</strong>

<strong>175.

Blueberry pie with ice cream.</strong>

<strong>176.

A bialy toasted with butter.</strong>

<strong>177.

Farms.</strong>

<strong>178.

Farmers.</strong>

<strong>179.

Farm equipment.</strong> Case, John Deere, Caterpillar.

We have particular affection for Caterpillar because Israel modifies its D9 bulldozers for military use.

<strong>180.

County fairs.</strong>

<strong>181.

State fairs.</strong>

<strong>182.

4-H.</strong>

<strong>183.

FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America).</strong>

<strong>184.

Heirloom tomatoes.</strong>

<strong>185.

Corn on the cob.</strong>

<strong>186.

Cranberry sauce.</strong>

<strong>187.

Cornbread.</strong>

<strong>188.

Fried chicken.</strong>

<strong>189.

Strawberry shortcake.</strong>

<strong>190.

Strawberry lemonade.</strong>

<em>Fashion</em>

<strong>191.

Ralph Lauren.</strong>

<strong>192.

J.

Press.</strong>

<strong>193.

Brooks Brothers</strong> back in the day.

<strong>194.

The Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress.</strong>

<strong>195.

Levi’s blue jeans.</strong>

<strong>196.

Corduroy jeans.</strong>

<strong>197.

Cowboy hats.</strong>

<strong>198.

Cowboy boots.</strong>

<strong>199.

Baseball caps.</strong>

<strong>200.

Trucker hats.</strong>

<strong>201.

Finance-bro fleece vests.</strong>

<strong>202.

Red wool jac-shirts.</strong>

<strong>203.

A trench coat and a fedora like Humphrey Bogart.</strong>

<em>Abstractions</em>

<strong>204.

Upward mobility.</strong> Other countries have rigid class structures.

America is a land of opportunity.

<strong>205.

Hustle.</strong>

<strong>206.

The work ethic.</strong>

<strong>207.

Ambition.</strong>

<strong>208.

Winning.</strong>

<strong>209.

Growth. </strong>

<strong>210.

Freedom.</strong>

<strong>211.

Free enterprise.</strong>

<strong>212.

Entrepreneurship.</strong> A fancy French-sounding word for people starting a small business they hope will soon become a larger one.

<strong>213.

The rule of law.</strong>

<strong>214.

Self-correction.</strong>

<strong>215.

Continual improvement</strong> (on a net basis, medium-to-long-term).

<strong>216.

A nation of risk-takers.</strong> Most people arrived in America by taking a risk.

Their descendants are more comfortable with risk than are the people who stayed in Europe in countries with lifetime job security and cradle-to-grave welfare systems.

Americans take the risk and reap the rewards.

<em>Miscellaneous Other Things</em>

<strong>217.

Pickup trucks.</strong>

<strong>218.

Minivans.</strong> Americans have large families and lots of stuff.

The Plymouth Voyager invented the segment now dominated by the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.

<strong>219.

Station wagons.</strong> These were minivans before minivans.

<strong>220.

Monster trucks.</strong> Watching them run over obstacles and each other.

<strong>221.

Highway culture.</strong> From Route 66 to the Pacific Coast Highway to motels and truck stops, the open road helps define America.

<strong>222.

The Appalachian Trail.</strong> Georgia to Maine.

<strong>223.

Ellis Island.</strong>

<strong>224.

Exam-based public high schools.</strong> Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, Thomas Jefferson, Boston Latin School and other examples of meritocracy in action.

<strong>225.

Charter schools.</strong>

<strong>226.

Catholic schools.</strong>

<strong>227.

Home schoolers.</strong>

<strong>228.

Well-run home-based daycares. </strong>

<strong>229.

Home health aides.</strong> A godsend to those with aging parents or grandparents.

<strong>230.

Parents who pay tuition at religious day schools.</strong>

<strong>231.

Lakewood, New Jersey.</strong> Home of one of the world’s largest yeshivas and a rapidly growing Orthodox Jewish population.

<strong>232.

Las Vegas.</strong> I’m not a gambler, and it’s not to my taste.

But the idea of building a giant convention and tourist destination from basically nothing in the middle of the desert is an example of the sort of ambition and imagination and growth that make America great.

<strong>233.

The Statue of Liberty.</strong>

<strong>234.

National Parks.</strong>

<strong>235.

The Scout Law.</strong> "Trustworthy.

Loyal, Helpful, Friendly…"

<strong>236.

Christian Zionism.</strong> Mike Huckabee, Pastor John Hagee, Tony Perkins…

<strong>237.

The Jersey Shore.</strong>

<strong>238.

Beaches, generally.</strong>

<strong>239.

Carousels with handpainted wooden horses and those brass rings you can reach out and grab.</strong>

<strong>240.

Stone walls made out of the rocks the farmers plowed up when they cleared the fields.</strong>

<strong>241.

Yard sales.</strong>

<strong>242.

Stoop sales.</strong>

<strong>243.

Flea markets.</strong>

<strong>244.

Farmer’s markets.</strong>

<strong>245.

Fall.</strong>

<strong>246.

Summer.</strong>

<strong>247.

Winter.</strong>

<strong>248.

Spring.</strong>

<strong>249.

Thanksgiving.</strong>

<strong>250.

God.</strong> General George Washington received the Declaration of Independence with orders expressing the hope that "this important Event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer, and soldier, to act with Fidelity and Courage, as knowing that now the peace and safety of his Country depends (under God) solely on the success of our arms."

The "under God" part—like the Declaration’s mention of rights from the "Creator"—is crucial to the American story.

It may help to explain why America has endured and prospered for as long as it has.