A belief in America—not by blood, but by bond.

 

I’m a civic nationalist. That simply means I believe what holds us together as a nation isn’t race, background, or culture—it’s a shared commitment to the principles that define who we are as Americans.

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I believe in freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights. These aren’t just “liberal” values—they’re American values, rooted in the Declaration of Independence and secured through our Constitution. They’re the foundation of our democracy and the promise that binds every citizen, regardless of where they come from or what they believe.

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Civic nationalism isn’t rooted in ethnicity—it’s rooted in citizenship. It’s the idea that being American means embracing a shared political identity—one based not on inherited culture, but on a common belief in liberty, justice, and the responsibilities of citizenship.

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This belief doesn’t divide—it unites. It calls us to rise above partisanship and labels, to see one another first as fellow citizens committed to a greater purpose: building a country that honors its founding ideals by living them out, together.

At a time when division is easy and cynicism is everywhere, I believe we must return to what truly unites us. Not politics, not partisanship—but principle.​

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That’s what civic nationalism means to me.

That’s what I stand for.

And that’s what I’ll fight for—because America works best when we all rise together.

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This belief is best captured in the words of The American’s Creed, written in 1917 by William Tyler Page and adopted by Congress in 1918. It remains one of the clearest expressions of our shared civic identity:

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