The Surprising Source of America’s Success
A reflection on American identity and culture through the lens of a long-term observer traveling across the country. The author explores how loneliness and constant reinvention have shaped the nation's unique character.
Why it matters
Provides a sociological perspective on the American experience during its 250th anniversary, highlighting the intersection of personal history and national identity.
Marlen Mueller / Connected Archives Ideas The Surprising Source of America’s Success Loneliness created the first nation in history in which almost everyone has already changed the course of their life at least once.
Save D riving on I-79 south from Pittsburgh toward Charlottesville, I started composing this birthday card in my head—a love letter to America on its 250th birthday. The hills of Pennsylvania were blanketed in glittering white snow from which bare-armed trees rose like the locals: lean, weathered, lined and stained like the earth. In a frozen sales lot beside the road, 50 John Deere tractors stood in formation, their booms raised toward the sky like eaglets waiting to be fed. At the crest of one hill, someone had planted an old shipping container painted with large letters: TRUMP . I drew closer, and more words appeared: GUNS . LIFE . JESUS . LOVE .
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