The America I love is one of baseball, hot dogs and apple pie.

But the sad truth is that that America doesn’t really exist anymore. Instead of baseball, we soak in football, which, to paraphrase Washington Post columnist George Will, embodies the worst components of modern American life — violence and committee meetings. And in all likelihood, that apple pie is from McDonald’s, not mom’s kitchen. At least I still don’t know what’s in the hot dogs.

These are realizations I’ve written about before. I’ve pushed for baseball as our national pastime and recently wrote about why America’s obsession with processed food is unhealthy. All of this is so I can answer two simple questions — what is it that makes me American? More importantly, is it something I can be proud of?

It took a few years and a couple thousand miles of separation, but I think I have the answer now — Americans, old and young, are optimistic, idealistic individuals.

In eighth grade, the former was a much easier question to answer — I was American because I believed in truth, justice, freedom, democracy and fair play. America has always stood up for these values. Look at our Constitution and our history, look at the gallons of blood we have spilt for those ideals.

That all fell flat from a proper history lesson, of course — Native American removal, Japanese internment, the violence at Selma and Stonewall. Add in the persistent problems of income inequality, mass incarceration, police brutality against people of color, and all my former idealism felt misplaced.

I felt left in the lurch, and have spent the past years figuring out how to get back to that assurance and resolve, that maybe, just maybe, I live in a country worth fighting for. But it was my time spent away from the United States’ shores that made everything clear.

During my stay in Europe, my old-world peers rejoiced to me over and over again how optimistic Americans were. Europeans always seemed willing to shrug off the worse excesses of politics as just the way things are. They’ve seen Berlusconi, Putin and now Brexit’s turmoil and simply bear it. Apathy reigns supreme.

In contrast, for better or for worse, Americans never let reality limit our ambition.

When our nation was founded 240 years ago, it was, to quote historian Morton Keller in his book “America’s Three Regimes,” founded on a “mix of radical thought and moderate to conservative reaction.” The life, liberty and pursuit of happiness Thomas Jefferson demanded in the Declaration of Independence were but idle fantasies of philosophers from Plato to John Locke. The founders were the first to try and create an entire nation based on these ideals with the Constitution.

But even though the new nation was wrapped in pretty rhetoric, only propertied white men could vote at first. Slavery was still allowed. The slow destruction of the Native Americans was well on its way.

We failed to follow our own advice. But the words of the Constitution were still printed in black ink. Everyone is entitled to the freedoms included in the founding documents.  The founders — no matter their biases — gave a clear path forward for those who wanted to change our system. It was just a matter of making society see they deserved it.

This was true in the past, but it is just as true in the present. We all have a right to air our grievances in an open and honest fashion — and we all have a right to put forward a rebuttal. Open dialogue is the most American thing there is.

We are optimistic people because we are a people who have never — and maybe will never — entirely live up to the promise of our rhetoric. But we must continually strive to reach the ideal America where everyone is granted equal life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Our history is littered with mistakes that we must own up to, that we must own as a solemn reminder. But forward is the only direction forward for America.

It reminds me of a scene in “The West Wing,” where a black civil rights lawyer asks a White House staffer to pull out a dollar bill and explains the pyramid and all-seeing eye on the back.

As the lawyer explains, “The pyramid, it’s unfinished. With the eye of God looking over it and the words ‘annuit coeptis’ — ‘He, God, favors our undertaking.’ The seal is meant to be unfinished, because this country is meant to be unfinished. We are meant to keep doing better, we’re meant to keep discussing and debating.”

The founders recognized this. We can pass amendments for a reason. The elastic clause exists for a reason. The exact society in which the Constitution existed was going to change, and it needed mechanisms to keep it fresh. But its fundamental freedoms of speech, of the press, of assembly, of due process, against cruel and unusual punishment and yes, to bear arms — that’s for you, Dad — must be obeyed until the will of the people says otherwise.

And Americans have not shied away from these fights. We tackle them head-on in society and culture and beat away at each other,in the media, with our friends, in our schools before finally heading into Congress’ chambers. It is a long process, but it’s why we have avoided tyranny for so long, unlike many other countries in the world.

We must keep talking about the issues that plague our nation, because our pyramid is still unfinished. It will likely remain unfinished in my lifetime — and yours. We should challenge without fighting, discuss without anger and respect different viewpoints when solving issues.

As with most issues, this has to start on the individual level. I know I raise my voice more than I should. But if we want America to continue being a place worthy of pride, we have to work together knowing nobody will get everything they want.

We are all American. You are not American by blood, or by tongue, or even by virtue of the land you were born on.

You are American because of what you hold in your heart.

Stephen Caruso is a Contributing Editor for The Pitt News. He primarily writes on social and economic issues.

Write to him at [email protected]