As a child and even into my young adulthood, July 4th was an unabashed feel-good celebration of the birthday of our great nation. It was inconceivable to me that anyone would question the concept that America is a special place, a nation of good people, a nation that has done more than any other to improve the human condition. America is the preeminent example of a nation governed by the consent of the governed, a nation that respects the rule of law and strives to protect the rights of individuals against the tyranny of collectivism. Aside from its political attributes, America's contributions in the fields of medicine, engineering, space exploration, the arts, literature, manufacturing, farming, energy production, and sanitation changed the world. No nation has shown greater empathy for its one-time adversaries than the US, providing the funding to rebuild our WWII adversaries and foreign aid to countries around the world. No nation has done more when misfortune strikes others, responding with billions of dollars of disaster relief, funded willingly by the American tax-payer without expectation of repayment or even gratitude from the recipients.

What changed? Regrettably, in a little over one generation, with the malcontents of the 1960's generation now in control of education and the media, the image they project of America is so relentlessly negative that our country is hardly recognizable. From pre-school to post-graduate studies, "educators" and much of the media promote a divisive, leftist ideology that distorts and misrepresents American history and America's role in world history. Students are indoctrinated with the self-hating message that America is a flawed nation; selfish, wasteful and populated by racist, sexist, homophobes who need to be controlled by the ruling elites in Washington. There is no question that this effort to reshape America's image has been successful. After talking with my then-high school-aged children about their peers and teachers several years ago, I visited the school principal and bet him that any graduating senior would be unable to name 3 things about America that they were proud of, but that any student could easily name 5 things they believed that were negative about America. He, of course, declined my bet. I asked if he was satisfied with the negative view of our nation instilled by the school on his watch. He gave me no response, but based on the teachers, the textbooks and the curriculum, it is apparent the result is exactly what is intended.

Disparing the American flag has become a cause celeb, again with the willful participation of the media. A case in point is Colin Kaepernick, a spoiled, overpaid former athlete who is the new arbiter of what is acceptable in terms of Americanism. I would not pay a nickel to watch him play football, but I would pay $100 to watch this know-nothing take a middle school civics exam. He is often described by the adoring media as being known for "taking a knee" during the national anthem. The term "taking a knee" is intended by his liberal allies to portray Kaepernick in the best possible light, as "taking a knee" generally connotes a sign of respect and deference. The better description is that Kaepernick refuses to stand for the American flag or the national anthem, a sign of his disrespect and contempt, for which he is applauded. Kaepernick has been joined by Megan Rapinoe, captain of the US Women's Soccer Team, and she, like Kaepernick, also disrespects our flag and what it represents, and like Kaepernick, the media lines up to give her a platform to spout her leftist gibberish. I am certain that she expects and will be rewarded for her leftist views with a major corporate endorsement, just like Kaepernick.

The gang of 4 congresswomen adoringly dubbed "the squad" by a sympathetic media endlessly disparage our country as racist, sexist, and anti-immigrant, without the slightest acknowledgment of the fact that they are members of the US Congress and among the most powerful people in our political system, so that they are the proof that their allegations of racism, sexism, and whatever else-ism are false. Regrettably, these 4 are not outliers. In a recent poll, only 22% of Democrats responded that they were extremely proud to be American. I cannot name a single Democrat now running for President who is proud of America's history, our system of government and America's contribution to peace and prosperity in the world. Compare the dreary, negative image of America held by Democrats running for president with that of President Reagan, who characterized America as "a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere." As we celebrate another July 4th, I am proud to embrace Ronald Reagan's vision of our nation.

America the Beautiful