The American birthright belongs, potentially, to everyone. This is unprecedented. Other countries accept migrants on the basis of economic necessity or as a humanitarian gesture. Only in America is it the direct consequence of our foundational ideals.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the unique nature of American ideals regarding immigration, as it ties migrant opportunities to foundational American principles rather than just economic needs.
Bret Stephens highlights the distinctive American belief that the potential for citizenship belongs to all, emphasizing that unlike other nations which may accept migrants for economic reasons or humanitarian purposes, the United States uniquely views this as a reflection of its core values and ideals. This notion marks a significant distinction in how America approaches immigration, rooting it in a foundational belief in equality and opportunity for all.
In practice
In a discussion about immigration policies, this quote can underscore the philosophical basis of American ideals.
I routinely interview college students, mostly from top schools, and I notice that their brains are like old maps, with lots of blank spaces for the uncharted terrain. It's not that they lack for motivation or IQ. It's that they can't connect the dots when they don't know where the dots are in the first place.
The most interesting conversation is not about why Donald Trump lies. Many public figures lie, and he's only a severe example of a common type. The interesting conversation concerns how we come to accept those lies.
The more afraid we are of the shadow of racism, the more conscious we might become of our own unsuspected biases.
We live in a world in which data convey authority. But authority has a way of descending to certitude, and certitude begets hubris.
The soul can split the sky in two and let the face of God shine through.
Every one of our sinful actions has a suicidal power on the faculties that put that action forth. When you sin with the mind, that sin shrivels the rationality. When you sin with the heart or the emotions, that sin shrivels the emotions. When you sin with the will, that sin destroys and dissolves your willpower and your self-control. Sin is the suicidal action of the self against itself. Sin destroys freedom because sin is an enslaving power.
Free will without fate is no more conceivable than spirit without matter, good without evil.
Fear, prejudice, malice, and the love of approbation bribe a thousand men where gold bribes one.
Thoughts are to the Desires as Scouts and Spies, to range abroad, and find the way to the things Desired.
Like so many named places in California it was less an identifiable city than a grouping of concepts--census tracts, special purpose bond-issue districts, shopping nuclei, all overlaid with access roads to its own freeway.
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