The Privilege of Dissent

If Russia is so great, why not move there?

It’s a shame that America’s 250th birthday arrived during the year I’ve felt most frustrated with America.

I’ve been discouraged watching the political team I expected to advance policies I care about instead seem content to bathe in the very swamp they promised to drain.

I worry about the lack of principle within my own political party. And I’m disheartened by the rise of socialism across the country.

But this week I realized something: my ability to complain about America is one of America’s greatest strengths.

Try doing that in Russia—a country whose laws and values have been portrayed by Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens as more aspirational than America’s.

There, sustained criticism of the government can land you in prison—or worse. If Candace Owens were half as critical of the Russian government or the Russian Orthodox Church as she is of America’s institutions, she’d likely be silenced, threatened, or imprisoned. And Lord knows she wouldn’t last long without the oxygen of livestreaming her latest conspiracy theories.

Russia is hardly alone. Across much of the world, freedoms Americans take for granted are increasingly restricted. In England, people have been prosecuted—and in some cases imprisoned—for “offensive” texts. In Qatar, another country that Carlson and Co. speak favorably of, criticism of the ruling monarchy can carry serious consequences.

Should we acknowledge America’s problems? Absolutely.

It makes me angry that powerful industries so often shape public policy and that too many members of Congress are whores to the algorithm than public servants for people who elected them.

But the question isn’t whether America has problems. The question is what free people do about them.

The answer isn’t to black-pill ourselves into believing everything is hopelessly rigged. Complaining is easy. It’s enjoyable. And complaining about the government is one of the most American things you can do. But complaining alone has never changed the government.

Every worthwhile movement that has made America a more perfect union has required decades of persistence. Every meaningful reform has faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

When the Supreme Court handed down its disastrous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, affirming racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal,” those committed to civil rights didn’t surrender. They organized, persuaded, litigated, and kept changing hearts and minds. It took generations, but eventually the culture shifted, political leaders followed, and the law changed with it.

That’s the pattern throughout American history. In a republic, culture is upstream of politics. Convince enough people that your cause is just, and politicians will eventually have little choice but to follow.

America has never been perfect. But unlike so many places in the world, it gives us the freedom to criticize it and the opportunity to improve it.

To those frustrated with America: I see you. I understand you. I’ve been there.

But don’t let your frustration become fatalism.

Remember that we possess freedoms that billions of people throughout history—and millions still living today—could only dream of. We have the right to speak, to persuade, to organize, and to change the course of our country.

That’s what makes America the greatest nation in history.

So don’t just complain. Build. Organize. Persuade.

As for those who insist Russia is a better alternative to America: if it's so great, move there.