By Darryl Tippens

America’s big birthday is here, but not everyone is into the spirit of it. One person tells me, “I’m not feeling it.” With the daily deluge of negative news I can understand why she’s pretty bummed; but, still, I believe this year’s birthday shouldn’t be passed over. Here are four reasons why I’m happy to celebrate:

First, look closely at what’s nearest you. If we are willing to turn off the news for a while and look around, we will see much to celebrate. What makes America marvelous has little to do with longwinded politicians or the clamor in Washington. America’s greatness lies close at hand—in our neighborhoods, parks, churches, and community gatherings—in a Little League game on a summer night, a casserole left on a sick neighbor’s porch, a fire department’s pancake breakfast. 

Much of what makes our country great doesn’t make the headlines. The goodness resides in the folks we know, the strangers we meet, the colleagues we work beside, the friends we play with. I am high on our fellow citizens—their inventiveness, creativity, tenacity, faith, and good deeds. If we forget about Washington for a while, if we ignore the latest report from the reflecting pool on the national mall, we will see that the 250th national commemoration is a celebration—not of politics but of people—”We, the people.”

Second, talk to someone from abroad. If we break out of our familiar circles and talk to someone new to our country, we will get a fresh idea of what makes our country great. (There are 50 million of them, so they’re easy to find.) Look at our land through their eyes. Immigrants and international visitors have an uncanny knack for noticing what we tend to undervalue or overlook.

America’s short-term visitors inspire me. I am thinking of the 1.2 million (more or less) attendees at the World Cup games. It’s surprising to me what they find so surprising about America. They were told that our land was chaotic, violent, and dystopian; but what they are finding is a whole lot of normal—and they are savoring it. Stories are going viral around the world about Americans’ genuine kindness and hospitality. As an example, note the boundless joy in Boston as it welcomed thousands of fans from Scotland. Read the posts about the small things that amuse and delight our soccer (er, football) guests: free drink refills in restaurants, 24-hour retail, big-box stores, air conditioning, and even good gas station food!

Of course, they love our iced drinks and ice dispensers. I remember a time I was on an English train. I asked the woman pushing the food cart down the aisle for a soft drink. She handed me a warm can of Coke. When I asked for a cup of ice, she replied brusquely, “It’s chilled.” It was not. God bless America’s iced drinks!

Third, visit a military cemetery. If you want to know the value of something, find out what it cost. Our nation cost a million human lives. The Texas State Veterans Cemetery is just north of Abilene. Consider a visit this weekend. Read the names on the markers and reflect on those who served to make our country possible. If you can, visit an American cemetery abroad. (There are 14 in Europe, 26 worldwide.) It’s humbling to try to take in that massive field of crosses in Normandy where the boys of D Day paid the ultimate price, or the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, where the youths from the Battle of the Bulge lie buried, row upon row upon row. So many names. When I visited recently, I couldn’t escape the thought: these were just kids—many of. them just eighteen, nineteen—and they died for the people, the land, I love. America is the world’s oldest constitutional democracy. In light of who made our 250 years of existence possible, showing up for the party seems the decent thing to do.

Finally, and very importantly, honor and appreciate the fact that America’s story is complicated. We should do our best to avoid two extreme views of America being promoted today. One narrative is a whitewash. It presents a pristine, fault-free grand narrative of an almost perfect America. The other narrative is equally false. It’s the story of a hopelessly flawed, irredeemable country. There is a better approach to our national story. 

Someone who has helped me see America in a more honest and nuanced light is Condoleezza Rice. On February 9, 2011, the former Secretary of State, delivered a speech at Pepperdine University where I worked. Her words changed how I understand my country. She said, “America was born with a birth defect.” The metaphor struck deep: even as our Founding Fathers announced that “all men are created equal,” they made sure slavery remained untouched and intrinsic to our society. As we know, long after slavery was abolished, racial injustice persisted.

Rice’s honesty was disarming. She was born in the Jim Crow South, the descendant of slaves and sharecroppers. One of her childhood playmates died in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. Yet she has spent a life in service to this country, because she believes America is more than its defect—it was also born with a promise. “The essence of America,” she observed, “is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion—it is an idea that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” For her, America remains a land of promise, an unfinished project. It’s still possible “to build a more perfect union,” as our Constitution states. 

My view of America is pretty much like Rice’s. I see a flawed, but truly amazing country of endless promise. We should feel it. Our country deserves a very big 250th birthday party. Everyone is invited. We really should attend.

Darryl Tippens is retired University Distinguished Scholar at Abilene Christian University