{"id":4133,"date":"2026-07-10T10:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:37:29","slug":"what-the-pessimists-just-dont-understand-about-americas-greatness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133","title":{"rendered":"What the pessimists just don’t understand about America’s greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In a slight twist on other 250th-anniversary polls about declining faith in the American dream, a Wall Street Journal\/ NORC survey shows dropping confidence in both capitalism and democracy \u2014 with, once again, support steadily dropping, generation after generation.<\/p>\n

Read more Iconic \u201980s rocker shows off ripped body at 76 while performing shirtless<\/a><\/p>\n

We credit the decades-long progressive project of smearing the most free and successful nation ever<\/em>, with perhaps a touch of social-media-fostered delusions about how tough life is for twentysomethings today.<\/p>\n

Yet, as it happens, social media right now can point you to the truth \u2014 all those World Cup visitors amazed at experiencing the real America, with even Brits admitting they were wrong.<\/p>\n

Americans\u2019 pessimism, in short, is significantly a result of limited information.<\/p>\n

E.g., European and<\/em> American media prefer to obscure some pretty important facts, such as how Europe\u2019s GDP grew just 13.5% from 2008 to 2023 while US GDP nearly doubled<\/em> \u2014 and America continues to outgrow the competition.<\/p>\n

Happily, other surveys suggest pride in our country remains strong . . . yet the generational trends are consistent across all of them.<\/p>\n

Cross your fingers that time and first-hand experience can correct younger Americans\u2019 gloom; the testimony of new Americans \u2014 refugees from nightmares like socialist Venezuela \u2014 may help, too.<\/p>\n

Read more Gunman accused of killing University of Alabama student, dad of 3, and dog knew his victims: cops<\/a><\/p>\n

One bit from the Journal poll is cause for some added concern: More recent generations also show a growing<\/em> belief that \u201cthe mixing of cultures and values from around the world\u201d is important to \u201cthe United States\u2019 identity as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cultures, sure: Just think about what a lasting boon Little Italy is to New York City.<\/p>\n

But \u201cvalues,\u201d absolutely not<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That is: People come to America because of what this nation stands for, and the miracles our system works; you truly become an American by embracing those <\/em>values, not by imposing whatever ideas dominated in the homeland.<\/p>\n

The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and other core expressions of our Founders\u2019 beliefs must always define our identity: This is how we can be<\/em> a nation of immigrants.<\/p>\n

Our current political divide centers on temptations to reject those beliefs, whether for some supposedly superior set of values, a na\u00efve relativism or nattering nativism.<\/p>\n

This, above all, should be the takeaway of America\u2019s 250th celebrations; it\u2019s how the United States can win 250 more years.<\/p>\n

Read more Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon ripped for engraving entire family\u2019s names on Stanley Cup<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and other core expressions of our Founders\u2019 beliefs must always define our identity: This is how we can be a nation of immigrants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and other core expressions of our Founders\u2019 beliefs must always define our identity: This is how we can be a nation of immigrants.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"What the pessimists just don’t understand about America’s greatness\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133\"},\"wordCount\":429,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133\",\"name\":\"What the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=4133#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What the pessimists just don’t understand about America’s greatness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and other core expressions of our Founders\u2019 beliefs must always define our identity: This is how we can be a nation of immigrants.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"What the pessimists just don’t understand about America’s greatness","datePublished":"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133"},"wordCount":429,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp","articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133","name":"What the pessimists just don't understand about America's greatness - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-10T10:37:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b51e8e2c102b399d4d9926cefcac5dce.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4133#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What the pessimists just don’t understand about America’s greatness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}