You can be from anywhere and be an American
Chapter 1 - from Little Book of Big Reasons to Love America
This is a draft of the introduction and Chapter 1 of my upcoming book - join the waitlist to be the first to know when we launch.
Introduction
"America is a nation with many flaws, but hopes so vast that only the cowardly would refuse to acknowledge them." - James Michener
A Love Ketter From an Immigrant
My first childhood memory is standing outside of a concentration camp in Santiago, Chile, at age five.I remember being scared and holding my Russian mother's hand as she talked to the guards through a fence, convincing them to pass a small paper bag of food to one of the prisoners. The prisoner was my Chilean father, one of the tens of thousands arrested nationwide after Augusto Pinochet's military coup overthrew President Salvador Allende on September 11th, 1973. Thousands were tortured and killed in concentration camps and secret prisons across the country.
I was too young to experience the stark reality of human cruelty and the fragility of freedom. This moment may have sparked my lifelong interest in the importance of liberty and the pursuit of happiness - values I later found embodied in the American story.
My father was eventually released, and our family found safety in a refugee facility in Santiago under the protection of the UN. We were among the two hundred thousand people forced into exile and blacklisted from returning. Doctors, educators, activists, intellectuals, artists - all perceived opponents of the military government. I spent my childhood in Chile, Germany, Russia, and Mozambique. After receiving a master’s degree in economics, I became a pop star, producer, evangelist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. A tragic story became an adventure with enough twists and turns to fill three lifetimes.
I immigrated to the US at thirty-five with my American wife, Deb, and our three daughters, and for the first time in my life - I didn’t feel like an outsider. After years of sharing with family and friends about why I love the culture and spirit of America, my wife encouraged me to write this book, perhaps to spare my friends hearing the same stories over and over again. I hesitated for a long time, knowing it would be interpreted as political. As I observed many Americans lose faith in their own country, I decided it was worth writing.
This book is not about politics You will not find an endorsement of any party or candidate. It's about the culture and values that built an imperfect and extraordinary nation. It is also about the ideologies that clash with it.
I touch upon why Marxism is destructive after experiencing it firsthand, living in countries that adopted it as a core ideology, and seeing the catastrophic results it produced. As an economics student in the USSR, I wrote papers on the works of Karl Marx and can recognize the rhetoric from a mile away. Marxism has mutated into Cultural Marxism in America and is hard to spot because it uses real problems to offer terrible solutions. I want to help you connect the dots and understand why it never has and never will lead to human flourishing.
You will undoubtedly detect my open aversion to top-down collectivist ideologies that promote a tyrannical state over the interests of individuals. Around 5.7 billion people today live under authoritarian regimes. That's around 72% of the planet. America is dysfunctional and messy, but I'd rather live and work here than anywhere else because it's also the most free place on earth.
As a Christian and recovering atheist, I share how my faith shaped my life and why the moral fiber of Judeo-Christian values is an essential part of the American story that we should not discard as outdated and unuseful.
I hope this unapologetically biased and subjective view will offer a healthy perspective and deeper appreciation for what we have as citizens of this great country.
Most importantly, this is an optimistic book about ten wonderful reasons to love America and my love letter to a country that shaped me long before I moved here and became a citizen.
I hope you leave these pages with a renewed appreciation for the vibrant tapestry of stories, ideals, and dreams that is America and share it with your friends.
Chapter 1 - You Can be From Anywhere and be an American
"The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges..." - George Washington
America is Third Culture
There's a term for culturally confused people like me - Third Culture Kid, or TCK for short. We TCKs blend our original culture with the cultures we live in, creating a "third culture." When someone asks us where we're from, we might respond, "Do you want the one-minute answer or the 20-minute one?" TCKs tend to have a distinct superpower: an eclectic view of life and the ability to adapt. For us, things that don't go together on the surface make total sense, and if nothing is certain, then anything is possible. On the downside, we don't feel at home in single-culture places—unless, of course, we're lucky enough to live in a Third-Culture Country. A place where our kind of strange is normal.
By age nine, I had learned four languages: Spanish and Russian from birth, Portuguese by immersion in Mozambique, and English at the local International School. Our family meals were, shall we say, eclectic. Mom would say something in Russian. Dad might reply in either Russian or Spanish. My sister and I would insert a few comments in Portuguese or chat in English. If Mom and Dad didn't want us to understand, they could always deploy their French. Sometimes, we'd mix two languages in the same sentence to better express what we wanted to say.
The American dinner table is similarly eclectic and often disharmonious on the surface. Yet, something magical happens when we embrace this eclecticism and make it our norm.
People who came to America created a Third Culture country. They came to either escape from something or aspire to something, making dangerous voyages into the unknown, often out of sheer desperation. They saw the world not as it was but as it could be and came to America knowing very little about the hardships they would face. They were forced to not just think outside the box but redefine the box altogether. Most of the early settlers only knew that they were giving away land for free across the ocean. Many learned when they arrived that there were other people living on much of that land who were willing to fight back. Between the harsh conditions, disease, and violent clashes with Native Americans, many lost their lives before they even laid eyes on the land they came to claim.
My wife Deb’s great-grandfather, Ugo Perfetti, came to America in 1910 at age 18 with his two older brothers onboard S.S. La Provence. The records at Ellis Island show his hometown to be a village deep in the mountains of Tuscany called Fanano. We visited that village a few years ago and spent a delightful few hours with extended family, connecting threads of memories, names, and stories into the tapestry of a more complete story. We know that one of the reasons Ugo Perfetti left the breathtaking beauty of his homeland was to escape the grip of poverty. The brothers were so eager to assimilate that they insisted their children not speak Italian. They would say: “You’re in America now, speak American.”
The Blending of Colors
In a global mosaic of countless tribes, America is the canvas where colors blend better than most places. We are the most successful multi-cultural democracy in the world. Yet, this blending of cultures is neither easy nor flawless. I have visited over 40 countries and learned this: everywhere I go, there are insiders and outsiders. For better or worse, humans are tribal.
We form tribes along ethnic and socioeconomic lines. We affiliate by faith, politics, or our stance on social issues. We argue over sports teams, the schools we attended, or whether to use Android or iOS phones. We are insiders in some circles and outsiders in others. Tribes within tribes.
Unlike any other country I’ve been to, America is a place with a collective awareness that almost everyone’s family came from somewhere else. A culture built by outsiders finds ways for tribes to fit together. Along the borders of these tribes, sparks can fly until a new blend emerges—a new thing that clashes with other new things. And so it goes. While this dynamic exists everywhere to an extent, in America, it is a defining characteristic. A place where outsiders can find belonging.
Uniquely so, you can be from anywhere—a French-American, Brazilian-American, or Turkish-American—and be fully accepted as an American. In contrast, in most other countries, you can be a citizen and still be perceived as an outsider. An Argentine living in France, a Ukrainian in Portugal, a Chilean in Mozambique. Due to the eclectic geography of my youth, I’ve been an outsider everywhere I’ve lived. When people ask me what culture from my mixed heritage I identify most with, I say—I feel more American than anything else. Although I immigrated to the US as an adult, this is home for me more than any other place on earth.
Clash. Combine. Create a Remix.
E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One
This idea permeates the American story, appearing on our passports, our money, and the seals of all three branches of our government. Diverse people, ideas, and traditions, often seemingly incompatible, given a chance to co-exist, can combine in surprising ways to create a remix—a new thing. On the surface, life in America can seem rough around the edges and chaotic. Under the surface, we create new things better than anyone else. It’s no surprise that Jazz and Hip-Hop are quintessential American art forms. The blending of genres and influences with such ease can only happen in a culture where remixing is viewed as beautiful.
This unique culture arose from circumstances that are far from guaranteed to continue. If we learn anything from history, it’s that progress is never automatic. It can easily dwindle and die in a generation or two. A successful multi-racial democracy depends on relegating some of our tribal affiliation to the idea of being an American. The strength of America has always been its ability to host a multitude of voices and allow disparate ideas to clash, birthing innovation and progress. When we prioritize identity politics over convictions, ideologies over values, and outrage over solutions, we risk creating echo chambers where wisdom is lost in divisiveness.
This escalating polarization can threaten the very core of what makes the American conversation powerful: the belief that we can disagree yet still find common ground. Reducing complex individuals to single dimensions based on their affiliations strips away our nuanced identities. When identity politics and cancel culture dominate, we fragment into smaller tribes, each suspicious of the others.
I’ve spent decades in countries where the will, culture, and ideology of one group keep the rest disempowered and oppressed. As many other immigrants, I treasure the opportunity to thrive here because I can both contribute and learn without feeling like an outsider.
If America stops remixing—we all lose.
This unique culture arose from circumstances that are far from guaranteed to continue. If we learn anything from history, it’s that progress is never automatic. It can easily dwindle and die in a generation or two. A successful democracy depends on relegating some of our tribal affiliation to the idea of being an American. The strength of America has always been its ability to host a multitude of voices and allow ideas to clash, birthing innovation and progress. When we prioritize identity politics over convictions, ideologies over values, and outrage over solutions, we risk creating echo chambers where wisdom is lost in divisiveness.
This escalating polarization can threaten the very core of what makes the American conversation powerful: the belief that we can disagree yet still find common ground. Reducing complex individuals to single dimensions based on their affiliations strips away our nuanced identities. When identity politics and cancel culture dominate, we fragment into smaller tribes, each suspicious of the others.
I’ve spent decades in countries where the will, culture, and ideology of one group keep the rest disempowered and oppressed. As many other immigrants, I treasure the opportunity to thrive here because I can both contribute and learn without feeling like an outsider. If America stops remixing—we all lose.
“Immigrants are the lifeblood of creativity and innovation. They bring new perspectives, fresh ideas, and boundless energy to every endeavor they undertake."
— Arianna Huffington
“As an immigrant entrepreneur, I've learned that adversity fuels innovation. It's what pushes us to think differently, dream bigger, and achieve the impossible."
— Brian Chesky
“As an immigrant artist, I draw inspiration from my diverse background and experiences. It's what makes my work unique and resonates with audiences around the world."
— Lin-Manuel Miranda
“As an immigrant, I have experienced firsthand the incredible opportunities that America offers to those who are willing to work hard and dream big."
— Elon Musk
“As an immigrant, I've always felt a deep connection to America and its ideals of freedom and opportunity."
— Salma Hayek
“Coming to America was the greatest gift I ever received. It gave me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and build a life I could only have imagined."
— Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Leaving behind everything I knew was the hardest decision I ever made, but it was also the bravest. It took courage to step into the unknown and chase my dreams."
— Jackie Chan
“As an immigrant artist, I've learned that home is not a place; it's a feeling. It's the warmth of community, the embrace of loved ones, and the knowledge that you are exactly where you're meant to be."
— Priyanka Chopra
I appreciated what you wrote in your Little Book. I spent 2 years of college in a neighboring country and worked 1 year in Europe in the 1970s. My family (along with our young children) lived in SE Asia for 3 years, working in an international community (missionary kids school with many TCKs), and living as the only white-faces in our housing subdivision. We found many things that we did LIKE about the SE Asian culture and were able to incorporate them into our own family immediate family. We arrived in that country just a few weeks after martial law ended, and saw a formerly stunted country attempt to spread out its wings. I asked questions and looked into how life had just been like under martial law -- not good!!! Whenever I returned to US soil, I was so grateful for my country and all that it had to offer. Our children have also lived in other foreign country cultures through their military experiences, one of whom felt "at ease" because of that child's early years in SE Asia. The family ancestors of me and my spouse emigrated from various countries in Europe. Many new inventions/ideas are the result of combining "incompatible" ideas/objects -- the proverbial "thinking outside of the box." Why are so many people today, including born again believers, afraid of incorporating people from other cultures into their current day lives? Afraid of new ideas? Afraid of change? Maybe the values of the other cultures are better than our own American ideas. Are born again believers so set in their ways that they can only see the bush/tree in front of them -- and not the forest? God originally made the Jews His chosen people, but Christ's death on the cross changed that -- making the Jews and Gentiles "one and the same" in His eyes. Do born again American believers "have the market" on the interpretation of God's Word through the grid of our American culture? Thank God for His love and redeeming grace for us, or there would be so few people sitting at God's table today.