7. The United States is the World’s Greatest Force for Good

Of all the shocking things you can say around the dinner table, this is the most shocking one. After all, America-bashing is part of our national identity.

At best, we see our neighbour as a well-intentioned but arrogant and blundering bully that throws its weight around too much. At worst, we see our neighbour as one of the most evil nations in the world. And yet, right now, hundreds of millions of people in India and China and other desperately poor parts of the world are being liberated from millennia of suffering and serfdom. Why? Because of the United States, which has spread its idea of economic freedom—and its purchasing power—around the world.