I Don't Like America But I'm Staying—For Now.

The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast · Jul 13, 2024 · 5m

I used to think I loved America.

I used to fully believe the mythology of my youth.

Growing up, I bought into its songs and its anthems and its stirring fiction of liberty and opportunity, which I guess was understandable. For a suburban, cisgender, heterosexual male who identified as Christian, they were as true for me as for anyone. They were all I'd ever known. That version of America had always been available to me, even if it was out of reach for most people.

But the more I had my eyes opened by travel, experience, curiosity, and education, the more I saw the cracks in the glistening…