Psalm 23:5, one of the best-known biblical passages, says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
It would be hard to find a passage that better reflects this year’s World Cup soccer (OK, OK – “football”) championship, which the U.S. is hosting for the first time since 1994.
But not because the other nations participating in this year’s World Cup are our “enemies.” To the contrary, the reactions of the athletes and fans from other countries who have traveled to and through the U.S. to compete and to cheer on their favorite teams have been nothing short of astounding; in fact, they have taken social media by storm, and Americans by surprise.
Turns out, our guests love America and Americans, and they’re telling us why.
[…]And now: A break in the clouds; a ray of sunlight; a glimpse of the truth; an epiphany that is a shock to the system in the best possible way. Americans are being told by the very people we were assured despised us that our country is beautiful and diverse; that our parks are family-friendly and our athletic facilities are second to none; that our traditions (and yes, we have them) are meaningful and distinctive; that our food is delicious and our restaurants and bars are bountiful; that our superstores are marvels of supply and organization with bathrooms so clean you could eat off the floor; that the workers in our service industries take real pride in excellent service.
And that we as a people are generous, kind, funny, inclusive, helpful, positive, warm and welcoming.
The professional malcontents who’ve built their lucrative careers making us hate ourselves are the selfish ones. Those deceitful frauds – not the citizens of other nations – are the “enemies” of Psalm 23 who are wailing and gnashing their teeth as the Lord shows us – through the eyes of our foreign visitors – that though we are imperfect, we are still good and decent and richly blessed.
It’s time to reject, once and for all, the hollow accusations of the Left, as well as the shackles that come with them. Our nation’s 250th birthday is next month; this World Cup is the best present ever.
— Laura Hollis, June 18 WorldNetDaily column
Americans are routinely told that our nation is hopelessly divided, irredeemably flawed and perhaps even in terminal decline. Public polling reflects this pervasive frustration, pessimism and anomie. If someone halfway around the world only followed the polls, he might be forgiven for believing our republic is all but over.
But something remarkable is happening during the 2026 World Cup, which is jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Fans from all across the world have arrived in America – and they are absolutely loving it. We too often take our way of life for granted, but many soccer tourists now here cannot stop marveling at what they see.
The unlikely symbol of this phenomenon is “Freddy,” a young German soccer fan who has become an internet sensation while documenting his first road trip across the United States.
[…]The foreign visitors who are spending this summer discovering America have unintentionally delivered an important message to those privileged enough to call this great land home. They have reminded us that our country remains worthy of admiration. They have reminded us that gratitude is often more appropriate – as it is here – than despair.
As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, that lesson could not be timelier.
— Josh Hammer, June 26 WND column
First, we have the foreigners visiting the U.S. to cheer on their teams in this year’s World Cup soccer championship. As I wrote last week, it’s been heartwarming to see how much these people love America, and how surprised they’ve been to find that Americans are warm, welcoming, generous and kind people.
Another aspect of America that has astonished our guests is the number, size and variety of our businesses: restaurants of every type, small boutiques, “big box” supermarkets and corner grocers, food trucks, outdoor equipment and hunting stores (with their ubiquitous guns and ammo), mom-and-pop shops, little kids’ lemonade stands, delicatessens – you name it. Social media is filled with posts and videos in which visitors express their amazement at the quality of the food (and portion size!), “free” appetizers and soda refills, and the uncountable options and choices among America’s products and services.
That, my friends, is a consequence of America’s culture of entrepreneurship – a fact that some of the foreigners here have recognized and remarked upon with envy. One Canadian described us as “the most opportunity-dense country ever.”
He’s right.
So I was disappointed (though not surprised) when Pope Leo XIV posted on X a few days ago that food, water and health care shouldn’t be “commodities” that are subject to “market considerations.” In his follow-up post, he “appealed to governments” to “increase the resources dedicated to combating hunger and its root causes.”
Seriously? Governments are the chief “root causes” of hunger.
The key to adequate food production is not government, but small business. Sorry, Holy Father, but food, water and healthcare are “commodities,” because their provision, for the most part, depends upon the work of other human beings.
[…]The America that our World Cup visitors are marveling at was built by freedom-loving entrepreneurs operating within the reasonable structures of a limited government – people of every background who were willing to sacrifice much to build their American Dream. We are all the beneficiaries of their hard work.
But what took 250 years to build can be destroyed by socialists within a very short time.
— Laura Hollis, June 26 WND column