Conducted over email, the contest proved daunting. But then, as National Newswatch’s political history columnist, columnist, reminded me of this quote from former President Bill Clinton: “There’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America.” 

So here are 250 things that have been and continue to be “right” with America, whatever the state of politics might be. This list covers the gamut, from food to pop culture, to landmarks, to political figures, to home and office supplies—surprisingly not much math or science! Well, except for Art’s obsession with NASA. He also loves Reuben sandwiches, Bob Dylan and The West Wing. And he really did do his best to find things that are right with America.

From Laura Carney, age 48, an American magazine journalist and memoirist:

“1. the great American road trip (aka Route 66)

2. the great American novel

3. hot dogs

4. potato salad

5. all-you-can-eat buffets

6. blue jeans and denim jackets

7. rodeos

8. baseball, basketball, volleyball, football, pickleball, skateboarding and ultimate frisbee

9. apple pie

10. freedom of speech

11. the Academy Awards

12. national parks

13. fast food

14. drive-ins, diners and dives

15. New York City

16. the Heartland 

17. Hollywood

18. s’mores"

From Art Milnes, age 60, a Canadian speechwriter to prime ministers, political historian and U.S. president fanboy:

“19. the Constitution

20. the Lincoln Memorial

21. “blue” cheese dressing (because it's better than that inferior French stuff)

22. President Bartlett from The West Wing

23. all-you-can-eat-buffets (because they've earned two mentions)

24. all-you-can-eat-buffets (because we think they've earned three mentions)

25. Dan Aykroyd (even though he's Canadian)

26. Mike Meyers (even though he's Canadian)

27. Joni Mitchell (even though she's a Canadian)

28. the Pope (because he looks and sounds like he's Canadian)

29. The late Peter Jennings’s broadcasts (even though he was a Canadian)

30. Artemis II (because it took a Canadian to the moon and back)

31. Apollo 11 (because Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were proud Americans)

32. Alan Shepard (because he was the first American in space but more importantly, he took a golf club to the moon!)

33. Bob Dylan, because it is thanks to him that we all know how it feels

34. Taylor Swift, because she is in love with one of the two of us (but doesn't know it) 

35. Because WKRP is still—in spirit, at least—in Cincinnati

36. Vancouver (because it’s close to America anyway)

37. James Buchanan (because he's no longer America's worst president)”

From Laura: 

“38. Native Americans

39. Ellis Island

40. Babe Ruth

41. Marilyn Monroe

42. Stevie Wonder

43. Jackie Robinson

44. Louis Armstrong

45. the first modern-day marathon

46. the bayou, Harlem, Chinatown and Little Italy

47. the Jersey shore

48. Venice Beach

49. the California missions

50. the Panhandle, Bread Basket and Hill Country

51. the Everglades

52. the Bible Belt

53. Pennsylvania Dutch

54. Mormons, Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Unitarians, Nation of Islam and New Thought

55. Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau

56. Napoleon Hill

57. Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt

58. BBQ, Tex-mex, fajitas and chimichangas

59. Lobster rolls, California rolls and clam chowder

60. Banana splits, bananas foster, Boston cream pie, pecan pie and German chocolate cake

61. Hamburgers, corndogs, Buffalo wings and Cincinnati chilli 

62. Caesar salad and Waldorf salad

63. the Cuban sandwich, spaghetti and meatballs, biscuits and gravy, eggs Benedict, chop suey, baked Alaska and French dip

64. Hershey’s, Kraft, Campbell’s, Heinz, Kellogg’s, General Mills, Lays, Pillsbury, Quaker Oats, Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Starbucks and Dairy Queen

65. root beer, Coca-cola, iced tea and White Zinfandel

66. bubble gum, Crackerjack, salt-water taffy and cotton candy

67. baked beans, crab cakes and cheesesteaks

68. the brownie, Jell-o, water ice and soft-serve

69. candy corn, jelly beans, lollipops, popsicles, Tootsie Rolls, Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, Chex mix, candy bars, ice cream floats and tater tots

70. dental floss

71. paper towels, paper clips, paper cups and paper bags

72. Barbie, Hot Wheels and Cabbage Patch Kids

73. water parks

74. the most Olympic medals ever won

75. the Super Bowl

76. the Girl Scouts

77. Civil Rights, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks

78. Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck, Spencer Tracy, Alan Ladd, James Dean, Elvis and Montgomery Clift

79. Harper Lee, Mark Twain, William Faulkner and Kurt Vonnegut 

80. Helen Keller

81. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham LIncoln and John F. Kennedy 

82. Susan B Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

83. the Red Cross

84. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, electricity, the telephone, the phonograph, the assembly line and Morse code

85. Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Grace Kelly and Natalie Wood

86. Judy Garland and Andy Rooney

87. Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and The Three Stooges

88. Second City/Improv, Saturday Night Live, vaudeville, Barnum & Bailey and Broadway

89. Vogue

90. Frederick Douglass

91. Sacagawea and Pocahontas

92. Chicago (and Chicago-style pizza and hot dogs)

93. New Orleans (and beignets, jambalaya, étouffée and po’ boys)

94. jazz, bluegrass, swing music, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, hip-hop, the jukebox, electric guitar and microphones

95. tap dancing, square dancing and the Twist

96. Film noir and westerns

97. Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter, David Lynch, John Waters, John Ford and Francis Ford Coppola

98. Walt Disney

99. Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Sally Field, Jane Fonda and Natalie Portman

100. Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, Paul Newman and Robin Williams

101. George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and John Williams

102. Abstract expressionism and pop art

103. Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Andrew Wyeth, Basquiat, Edward Hopper and Keith Haring

104. Monopoly, Scrabble, Poker and Uno

105. the spork, the Snuggie, the Flowbee and pet rock

106. PBS and NPR

107. the personal computer, the internet, wi-fi, smartphones, the hearing aid and the pacemaker (remember when we led in innovation?)

108. Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca and Singin’ in the Rain

109. Mr. T.

110. Mr. T. cereal

111. Mr. T. the Saturday-morning cartoon

112. Jim Henson, Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers

113. Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart and Seth Myers

114. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis Jr.

115. Brooke Shields, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Ethan Hawke and Mary Tyler Moore

116. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

117. Wawa, 7-Eleven and Sheetz (not Buc-ee’s)

118. Johnny Appleseed and Betsy Ross

119. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt

120. the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building

121. the basement of the Alamo

122. the Golden Gate Bridge

123. Charlie Brown, Little Orphan Annie, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes

124. Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Frost, Georgia O’Keeffe, Willa Cather and Ansel Adams

125. Norman Rockwell

126. Marian Anderson and Shirley Temple

127. Will Rogers, Bob Hope and Jack Benny

128. Superman, Bat-man, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Iron-Man, the Flash and the Incredible Hulk

129. Archie comics”

From Art:

“130. Niagara Falls (even though the Canadian ones are better)

131. the Beaches of Normandy (even though today's president insults the memory of the allies who fought alongside us that terrible day)

132. the cemeteries at Normandy (where the best of the Greatest Generation are forever waging peace)

133. George Bush 41 (even though he wouldn't recognize his once proud party anymore)

134. George Bush 43 (even though he doesn't recognize his once proud party anymore)

135. Richard Nixon (even though he resigned in disgrace yet brought peace to millions before he left the White House on that infamous August day in 1974) 

136. Bill Clinton (even though his belief there's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America seems only a dream today)

137. Robert Kennedy (the good one, that is)

138. Alexander Graham Bell (even though we know in our hearts that he really was a Canadian)

139. the fact that America daily seeks a more perfect union 

140. the fact that America is generous in sending so much foreign aid to help those who live in the Third World (even though they don't do it that often anymore)

141. the secret ballot (even though American votes sometimes don't get counted anymore)

142. checks and balances in Washington (even though Congress doesn't offer those kinds of services anymore)

143. fireside chats (even though we don't hear them anymore)

144. Harry S. Truman (because he carried the grips up the attic on his own) 

145. Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill (even though one of us still wishes the British had won)

146. Mississippi (even though Bob Dylan often stays there a day too long)

147. Alaska (even though the Canadian Arctic is bigger)

148. Alaska Part II (even though Sarah Palin is from there)

149. Winston Churchill (who, despite being from Britain, America still made an honorary American one day in 1963)

150. Barack Obama (who, along with his family, never disgraced his high office for eight impressive years)

151. the presidency (because 45 of the men who held the office tried to be good and decent, something you should recognize whether you voted for them or not)

152. Coffee Crisp (even though that brand of chocolate bars is actually Canadian)

153. Ketchup chips (even though they are actually Canadian)

154. Roe versus Wade (even though that ruling is temporarily not in effect right now)

155. the right to choose (even though it is under attack right now)

156. Teddy Roosevelt (because he walked softly but still carried a big stick)

157. Teddy Roosevelt Part II (because he had a heck of a bully pulpit) 

158. Teddy Roosevelt Part III (because if it wasn't for him there would never have been a show called The West Wing)

159. the East Wing (even though some jerk bulldozed it the other day)

160. American exceptionalism (even though not much of it has been coming out of Washington lately)

161. Bob Dylan Part II (because he once had a girlfriend who had the cool-sounding name Echo)

162. the March on Washington 

163. Gene Cernan (because he was the last American to leave a footprint on the moon)

164. Mother Teresa (because America—rightly—made her an honorary American a few years back)

165. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter (because, as they say at the Carter Center, this late, great couple never stopped Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope).

166. France (because they gave America the Statue of Liberty)

167. The Price Is Right (because admit it, you actually liked to watch it back in the day)

168. Mount Rushmore (even though it doesn't have a girl on it yet but will someday soon)

169. Mexican food (even though it's not American, it tastes so good you can be forgiven for thinking America invented it)

170. the people of Mexico (even though America often treats them and their country like shit)”

From Laura:

“171. the Mississippi River, redwood forests and Gulf Stream waters

172. amber waves of grain, purple mountains majesty and the fruited plain

173. the Grand Canyon, Appalachia and Yosemite

174. boater hats, baseball caps, cowboy hats, cowboy boots and the bolo tie

175. the zoot suit, the T-shirt and the tuxedo

176. bras, bobby pins, clothespins, Q-tips and deodorant

177. zippers and the motorcycle jacket

178. snow goggles, Ray-bans and aviators 

179. Rosie the Riveter

180. Flappers, beatniks and hippies

181. Pin-ups, candy stripers and California girls

182. Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles and Billy Joel

183. Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, John Belushi, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg and John Mulaney

184. Crayola crayons and pencils with erasers

185. vacuums

186. alarm clocks and baby monitors 

187. hair dryers

188. the sewing machine

189. the flashlight

190. dishwashers and blenders

191. waffle irons, the microwave and TV dinners

192. TV

193. Lassie, Little House on the Prairie, I Love Lucy, Happy Days, Cheers, Family Ties, E.R., Seinfeld, Golden Girls, Friends, Mad Men and Lost

194. the airplane

195. the traffic light 

196. GPS

197. the digital camera and the Polaroid

198. the transistor

199. credit cards

200. pain-relievers, syringes and sunscreen

201. the Punkin Chunkin

202. air-conditioning

203. the ballpoint pen and staplers

204. Post-it notes

205. masking tape

206. Krazy Glue

207. barbed wire

208. the cash register

209. chemotherapy

210. the escalator

211. Ranch dressing

212. shopping carts and supermarkets

213. Silly Putty

214. tea bags

215. video games

216. Nylon, Teflon, GORE-TEX and Tupperware

217. Skee-ball

218. the polio vaccine”

From Art:

“219. The Mercury Seven, test pilots for America’s first human spaceflight program: pilot Scott Carpenter

220. Pilot Gordon Cooper

221. Pilot John Glenn 

222. Pilot Gus Grissom

223. Pilot Wally Shirra

224. Pilot Alan Shepard (again)

225. Pilot Deke Slayton

226. The Gemini Nine: Pilot Thomas P. Stafford 

227. Pilot Eugene A. Cernan (again)

228. Apollo 13 astronauts: Commander Jim Lovell

229. Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert

230. Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise

231. Apollo 13, the movie

232. Tom Hanks, just because

233. every man who walked on the moon

234. Grant’s Tomb (because the last line of his memoir is “let us have be peace”)

235. Ed White, the first American to walk in space

236. Alexei Leonov, the first Russian to walk in space (because Americans are a fair people, and he came first)

237. Minnesota, where the girl from the North Country lives

238. Hibbing because that’s where Bob Dylan comes from

239. Highway 61 (see above”

240. Appomattox Courthouse

241. January 1, 1863

242. Chester Arthur (because they criticized him for being “Canadian”)

243. Waffle House (though we don’t both agree)

244. IHOP (though we don’t both agree)

245. Reubens (because Canadians can’t make them properly)

246. smoked-meat sandwiches (because Canadians, particularly in Montreal, make them better)

247. Thousand Island dressing 

248. Nelson Mandela (even though he’s not American or Canadian)

249. the World Series, but only when the Blue Jays “win”

250. the fact that America is bigger than any one man (or woman) who temporarily lives in the White House” 

 

Laura Carney is a writer and copy editor in New York, but she lives with her husband, a book designer, in Montclair, NJ. Her work as a copy editor has been in books and magazines, for 20 years, such as Good Housekeeping, People, Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue and Macmillan. Her best-selling book, My Father’s List: How Living My Dad’s Dreams Set Me Free, about her six-year quest to finish the 54-item bucket list of her late father, was published by Post Hill Press in June 2023. Laura’s @myfatherslist on Instagram and her website is bylauracarney.com. 

 

Arthur Milnes’ column “Art’s History,” a celebration of Canada’s political history, has appeared daily on National Newswatch since 2020. A speechwriter to then prime minister Stephen J. Harper, Arthur was also the memoirs’ assistant to the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney. His books include studies (in the Canadian context) of U.S. presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Franklin Roosevelt.