July 13, 2026

I love this statement by the Spanish Prime Minister and wish that every country in the world was governed by the the principle that what makes someone a citizen is that they love their country and work to make it better. He tells us it makes no sense to measure belonging in a country by a person's surname, place of birth, or skin color.

Thomas Paine also expressed this idea at the founding of the United States by reminding us that virtue is not hereditary. Just because a person shares a surname, place of birth, or skin color with previous citizens doesn't mean that they have special claim to being Americans. Some of the hardest working, most freedom appreciating people in the US are the very ones that the current administration is trying to say don't belong in America. It makes no sense to me.