Ten Great American Achievements We Can’t Take for Granted

National parks: Our national park system—more than 85 million acres of land—has long been the envy of much of the world. Even the Chinese government, no slouch at public infrastructure creation, regards it as a model. We constantly celebrate our great wilderness in America, from legends about the frontier to the “purple mountains’ majesty” of our national anthem to car ads that panoramically revel in the Western landscape. But the park system is what has kept much of that glorious landscape from being turned into auto dealerships, coal mines, or strip malls, as it all would be if our oligarchs had their way. The national parks have never been more popular, in 2024 reaching a record high of 331.9 million visitors. Yet Trump’s cuts to the system have been severe, reducing the NPS workforce by 25 percent, even as he spends lavishly on his immediate environs, like the algae-plagued Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Pop culture: This country was the birthplace of rock and roll, soul, jazz, and rap. And Hollywood in its heyday made the best and most popular mass-market movies in the world. American pop culture has been one of our greatest exports.

There is life in our cultural production machine yet: Last year’s K-pop Demon Hunters, an American production, was a global phenomenon. But with Hollywood’s increasing dependence on IP tentpoles—superhero franchises, sequels, remakes—and the AI slop beginning to infect internet platforms like Spotify, America’s cultural dominance looks shakier every year.