Down by the Fraunces Tavern, the city doesn’t fully resemble the New York of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Empire State Building. Some of the New Yorkers among a group of “public intellectuals” had no recollection of being at the landmark before. George Washington had his farewell address here? Or slept here? We knew both were wrong. But we should get partial credit. Washington was here, on December 4, 1783, for a farewell to troops. The point of the story: Americans are so awash in history, we can’t even keep track of it.
We were meeting to talk in advance of the 250th anniversary of the United States. It’s an occasion for more than a military parade. It’s an opportunity to remember who we are and why it matters. It does still mean something, even if we’ve forgotten what it is — or even, at this point, never learned.
Getting out of lower Manhattan, meanwhile, I recently discussed rising antisemitism with an Uber driver.
Although not Jewish himself, some drunk people recently decided he was and told him how cheap he must be because of his presumed religious affiliation/ethnicity. A Christian born in Brazil, he was offended on behalf of Jews and all people of good will around the world who treasure the gift of religious liberty.
Still, my driver loves the United States. He came in the ’80s and has worked hard to raise a family here. He doesn’t have a ton of empathy for people in the country illegally — but he is grateful that Ronald Reagan gave him a second chance when he let his visa papers lapse, back in the day. Like Israel, he said, Reagan may not have been perfect, but he’ll defend both until his dying day. Israel, because it tries democracy — in the midst of people who want it obliterated — and Reagan, because the president gave him a chance at a better life.
In response to the recent absurdities between President Trump and Elon Musk, Luma Simms, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, born in Baghdad, said on social media: “I still love America, man.” I asked her what she meant. “What I still love about America, even in the midst of difficulties, and embarrassment before a watching world, like the public fight between Elon and Trump, is its spirit to be better and do better,” she said.
“America’s faults and mistakes can be very public sometimes, and that’s part of that Wild West spirit duking it out in the streets — it is unafraid, gets up, dusts off, gets back on its horse and rides off to do whatever job awaits. I love that part of the American spirit.” She added: “I love that there are many Americans that still love America. Immigrants can’t assimilate into a country that hates itself. The reason I was able to assimilate growing up is because I was surrounded by a local culture that had a thick identity, it was a confident American culture.” Last but not least, Simms loves America “because we still have a sense of humor.”
And with that, she reminds me that “Saturday Night Live”‘s 50th anniversary season is over and we’re likely not going to see Mike Myers reprise his role as Musk for a farewell address to his DOGE/White House experience. So we will have more time to prepare for America 250 and to assert why she is worth fighting for — if by fighting, we mean taking our stewardship duties more seriously than we have lately. It’s not actually a laughing matter. Liberty is fragile, but, oh, so precious.
Let’s get some of the history straight so we can celebrate it and pass it along to a generation that may just come to treasure it, once they realize. And never forgetting, from George Washington’s actual farewell address: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book “A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.” She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York, and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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