The only thing Americans don’t seem to want more of is government

OPINION:

This Independence Day, as I watched fireworks on the very edge of the continent, my son read aloud the Declaration of Independence. It was a solid reading of a workmanlike document that captures some of what America is all about.

Freedom? Absolutely. The United States ushered in and still sets the tone for the modern world’s skepticism and rejection of unearned and unwarranted deference. But the plain reality is that many countries are free now, in many cases, because we helped them along that path.

Equality under the law? Yep, although our efforts here at home are fraying a bit under the strain of politicization from the left, the United States still sets the bar for fair legal systems. But again, lots of nations have legal and judicial systems that are fair.

Government by the people? Popular sovereignty, which was considered borderline pathological when Americans first tried it, is at this point pretty much widespread around the world, except in really depressing and backward places like Russia and China.

So the irreducible fact is that most people on the planet have had the good sense to copy our approach to the interactions between their governments and themselves. They’re welcome.

As I listened to the declaration, however, it struck me that the core and driving purpose of the American experiment eluded the document’s grasp. That core can be described in just one word: more.

Virtually everyone who has made their way to this great land has wanted more. More land. More freedom. More bread. More property. More opportunity. More education. More knowledge. More autonomy. More control over their own lives. More whatever.

That is the distinguishing characteristic between Americans and the rest of the planet. Just about all of us are here — and stay here — because we want more. Much of the rest of the world is content with what it has; those who have made it to America are distinctly different. They can imagine — and are willing to work for — a world in which they have more of whatever it is they want.

This restless spirit has caused us to have the world’s most successful companies, not just at the moment but for much of the last 150 years. It has resulted in Americans and American universities winning a disproportionate share of Nobel Prizes. It has led to American-driven innovation, from the light bulb to artificial intelligence. Does anyone doubt that it will be the Americans who master robotics, nanotechnology, and whatever else is heading our way?

It is also why we lead the world in billionaires, economic size, military spending, consumption of calories, and number of cars and trucks, and are second only to Australia in size of houses (need to step it up a bit there). This is why people like Warren Buffett are sought after for advice and wisdom rather than the application of tar and feathers. Americans aren’t hostile to the rich; they are too busy trying to figure out how to get rich.

It is also why environmentalists, socialists and other preachers of scarcity are doomed to failure. They are swimming against the tide of what it means to be an American. Let’s be honest: None of the environmentalists who prowl around Washington are prepared to live without air conditioning, expensive cars or nice clothes. When was the last time you saw an environmental lobbyist in sandals and sackcloth?

Even American collectivists aren’t really collectivist. You can be confident that Sen. Bernie Sanders, an avowed “democratic socialist,” locks the doors of his Capitol Hill town house. American socialists have no intention of sharing their stuff — they just want you to share your stuff.

The only thing Americans don’t seem to want more of is government. That’s probably healthy, as is our ongoing appetite for more of everything else in life.

• Michael McKenna is an award-winning columnist at The Washington Times and a co-host of the podcast “The Unregulated.”