On July 4, 1776, a bald eagle fused liberty, freedom and justice into one, creating the greatest country in the world: The United States of America.

In the 241-year existence of our nation’s republic, we have defeated some of history’s most powerful empires and hateful regimes/ideologies, including the British Empire, Nazi Germany, theaters of communism and slavery during the Civil War.

Our nation has accomplished more in 241 years than any other government in the history of the world.

Despite our successes, many nowadays would argue against the U.S. being the greatest nation in the world. Many see the U.S. as oppressive, racist and flawed. Although the U.S. is not a perfect institution, it has been able to exist and prosper where other empires have fallen, remaining on top as the strongest country in the world throughout its existence.

Considering the atrocities that occur worldwide on a daily basis, it’s easy to see why the U.S. is the greatest country in the world.

The true beauty of the United States comes from what we can all say as Americans, which is that we are the most diverse nation in the world. Ask someone to point out an American out of a group of people and every answer would be correct. We are the first nation who has been able to successfully prosper despite our diversity. Our diversity makes us stronger.

Perhaps the number one quality of being an American is our concept of freedom.

There are many values we have as Americans that, in other nations, would land you jail time or even death.

Homosexuals are treated brutally in certain countries in the Middle East, among other areas, while, in places such as China, citizens are essentially allowed to have one child in order to control the population.

The list goes on. We as Americans have so much to be thankful for. We have the freedom to wake up every day and not worry about persecution for our beliefs and values.

Even though the pride of being an American and the love for our country may be at an all-time low, if we as Americans can come together to examine and take pride in who we are, what we’ve accomplished and how bad it is around the world, it would be easy to see why the U.S. is the greatest nation in the world.