Some will tell you that the United States of America, at 250 years old, is in its most precarious state in history. Some will tell you that we, as a nation, have never been more divided—politically, religiously, racially. Some will tell you that America is seeing its decline and its inevitable destruction. Some will tell you that our enemies are attacking us at levels never seen before in history. These people are imbeciles.

We have, in fact, been more divided. We fought a war against ourselves when the nation was less than 100 years old, and we came out stronger. We fought two world wars against countries that, on paper, were more powerful than us, and not only did we win, we came out as one of the superpowers of the world. We “fought” a Cold War against the other superpower and won that one as well. We outlasted empires and dynasties, came through slavery and Jim Crow, and withstood Pearl Harbor and 9/11. We fought a war of independence against a monarchy over taxation. This nation has been through the assassinations of four presidents and multiple political leaders. We’ve seen tremendous scandal rock our nation, from Watergate to Whitewater. We have survived disastrous presidencies like Hoover and Carter. And in every instance, the nation survived and thrived.

That is because the American philosophy is stronger than one event or one leader. The founders of this country understood two things: Man is flawed, and not everyone believes in the same path to achieve goals. So they built a nation with the idea that future generations would change things, but only if enough people agreed to it, and not just a simple majority.

The result is a country that leads the world in, to put it plainly, everything.

America has the highest GDP of any nation on earth, and it’s not close. We have the largest military and the best innovations on the planet, from technology to pharmaceuticals. We have the best athletics—the U.S. has won more than double the number of Olympic gold medals and total medals than the next closest country in history.

What about as a hegemony? We have led the world for over a century in the attempt to maintain world peace. For better or for worse, we were the driving factor behind the League of Nations, the United Nations, NATO, and every major peace agreement in the last century. We are the top dog in the world.

And sure, we have issues now that look bad. The rise of socialism and communism on the left and the rise of white nationalism on the right aren’t great. A little closer to home, the rise of antisemitic hatred in this country is growing, and civil unrest is on the rise. But if you think this puts the country on the brink, you need to brush up on your history. We have faced worse, and we pulled through. This is America—the land of the iPhone, the Super Bowl, and free refills.

This summer, the world is getting a closer look at the real America through the eyes of those here for the World Cup. Countries love to report about the negatives of America, but watching videos of regular people just entering Costco, marveling at the choices of snack chips in Walmart, baffled by the vast refueling options at Buc-ee’s, or the simple goodness of ranch dressing shows you how amazing this country truly is and what we take for granted. Other countries do not have the luxuries we have. The poorest among us can carry a supercomputer in their pockets that contains a key to all of the knowledge the world has ever possessed.

This country is amazing and can withstand a little friction—because we always have. It’s what makes America America. We took a song that the Brits used to make fun of us—“Yankee Doodle”—and repurposed it to make fun of them for losing to us in the American Revolution. Turning things around on the rest of the world has been in our bones since the inception of the country. So this Independence Day, enjoy your fireworks, turn up the grill, and crack open a beer in celebration of the greatest country this world has ever seen.

July the Fourth be with you.

By Izzo Zwiren