Coming to America: Hang onto a Dream

America is the only country in the world founded on ideas; not on race, not on culture, not on language, but on the ideas of human liberty and freedom. These ideas, as our founders noted, are universal, but they have been lived out here better than anywhere else on earth. That’s why so many people from around the world have come to America; to experience the liberty and freedom denied them at home.

As we celebrate the founding of our nation on July 4th, I suggest watching the opening two minutes and 25 seconds of Neil Diamond’s movie “The Jazz Singer,” featuring a short version of his iconic song, “Coming to America.”

You can also watch him sing the complete version of “Coming to America” in concert in the final scenes of the movie here:

Happy Independence Day.

Steve Buckstein is senior policy analyst and founder at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.