By Mena Yousef

Editor’s note: It originally appeared at The Bull Elephant on June 26, 2026. Its author, Mena Yousef, is a friend and contributor to the Fairfax County Republican Committee.

For years we’ve heard how America is the main problem in the world; how irredeemable America is because of past transgressions; how our country deserves a radical transformation to make up for a history that focuses on what went wrong rather than the good that America has produced throughout time.

So, what’s so great about America?

We’re being reminded of its greatness by this year’s World Cup visitors. Many people who have never set foot on our soil see what many on the left refuse to see, a country full of hospitality, generosity and freedom.

For the past couple of weeks, foreign soccer fans have gone viral with their takes on American cuisine, kindness and on our overall way of life. These fans realized they’ve been lied to for years by a corrupt media. It turns out America was never the evil country that the left and its partners in the press portrayed.

We are the country that loves, welcomes and is proud of what we’ve built. And the whole world now sees that too.

What’s so great about America? Is it our generous portions at our restaurants? The free refills? Ranch dressing?!?!

No.

Is it the power of our military? The success of our companies? Our higher education system?

That’s not it either.

To see what’s so great about America, we must see past today’s corporate media to find what every human has inside of them: the yearning for freedom and to own our own destiny.

No other country on earth offers the best opportunity for people to start from scratch and become what they’ve always wanted to be, except for America. No other country has the best map to show people what to do; ideals that respect individual liberty, freedom to practice your faith (or not practice), and equality for any gender or creed. These are ideals that we shoot for, and yes, sometimes miss, but the map is there for us to follow. No other country offers this that has produced this much success except for America.

And all it took was for rowdy soccer fans from around the world to remind us how good we really have it here; to let us know we’re not so bad after all.

I hope our comrades on the left and their friends in the corporate press one day realize this, but even if they don’t, they’re not fooling the outside world anymore.

Mena Yousef is a guest contributor. This piece originally appeared at The Bull Elephant and is republished here with permission.