Throughout world history, there have been many powerful nations and great empires. There were the Mongols, the British, the Romans, the Ottoman Empire or the Qing Dynasty.

But not many of these powerful empires are seen positively. They kept invading land, enslaving people and even imprisoned or killed dissidents in their own citizenry. Has there and will there ever be a nation where human rights are recognized? A nation that doesn’t have a “let’s conquer the world” mentality? A nation with a generous and tolerant population? A nation that has done so much to make the planet more prosperous? Well, that nation does exist and you’re living in it right now: The United States of America.

America is different because millions of people are dreaming to come here and live their lives here. Whether they be in Africa, Latin America, Asia or Europe, people want to come to America. If you were born in America, congrats! You’ve hit the jackpot. You’ve been blessed with one of the world’s greatest privileges.  

We’re different because people here have the freedom to start businesses and succeed. In America, even if you fail the first time, you’ll get a second chance. In many other countries across the globe, it’s one and done and can take months or even years to start a new business. 

If you go to Silicon Valley in California, you’ll see CEOs from Israel, India, Russia, Pakistan, China, Brazil and Nigeria. They didn’t just come here because we’ve got money, they came here because America gave them the best chance to succeed and make it big. 

Some U.S. tech companies that were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants include: AT&T, eBay, Yahoo, Uber, IBM, Oracle, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple. Nowhere else in the world is there more opportunity and social mobility than in America. America is the only country on Earth where there are “self-made tycoons.” Now, tycoons such as Steve Jobs and Pierre Omidyar aren’t common, they’re pretty rare, but no other nation in history has created a better ladder than America for people to climb from moderate circumstances to successes they couldn’t even dream. 

America also has the world’s largest economy and is the world’s largest consumer. The world’s economy depends on being able to sell to America in order to make it big.  

America also has a generous population. You think we Americans want to keep all of our money? We don’t. 

Whenever there’s a major humanitarian crisis on the planet, whether it’s the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti or the 2011 tsunami that destroyed Japan, America was the first to rush aid to those countries and the American people instantly raised money for disaster relief. They also sent food, clothing, and supplies to people halfway across the world that they’ll never meet. Who else does that? 

America also has a great — but not perfect obviously — foreign policy for a superpower. America has never been this mighty power looking to take over the world like other empires.

No other nation in history has fought to the death for the freedom of other nations who wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for the Untied States. Look at both world wars in Europe. Look at the Korean War too and even though that war ended without a winner or loser, South Korea wouldn’t exist today had the United States not intervened. If South Korea didn’t exist, Kia, LG, Samsung, and Hyundai wouldn’t exist either. 

After World War II, America helped rebuild Germany and Japan as they became more of what they’re like today and not imperialistic powers. 

Finally, America has gone further than any other society in establishing equal rights. No nation shed more blood to get rid of slavery than America did, and America also shed blood to establish equal rights for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. 

Minorities in general in America are the freest in the world. Minorities have a much better chance of prospering and reaching the mountaintop than anywhere else, and that’s why so many people of ‘minority’ races want to come to America so badly. Here, you’ll find plenty of minority (as well as female) professional athletes, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers.

The United States is one of only a handful of nations across the globe that recognizes LGBT people’s right to exist freely, express themselves and hold pride parades. 

No matter your skin color, gender, sexuality or politics, we should all feel incredibly lucky to live in the freest society in human history.