Video: What curiosity can teach us

Patriotism with Reservations

I am unapologetically patriotic and deeply grateful to be an American. My father served in the United States Army for twenty years, and because of his service I had the opportunity to live abroad in places such as Germany and South Korea. Those experiences broadened my worldview and gave me a greater appreciation for other cultures and nations. Yet they also reinforced a conviction that has only grown stronger with time: there is no place quite like the United States of America. For all of our imperfections, America remains a remarkable experiment in liberty, opportunity, and self-government.

As a Black conservative American, I recognize that I did not personally endure slavery, segregation, or the Jim Crow era. Nevertheless, I cannot ignore the challenges confronting our nation today. I am troubled by the increasingly divisive rhetoric surrounding immigration, the toxic state of our political discourse, the growing extremism that has taken root on both the left and the right, and the willingness of some to flirt with authoritarian impulses when democracy becomes inconvenient. These developments give me pause. They do not diminish my love for America, but they do create reservations about the direction we are heading.