By Adveline Minja | Perspectives & Perceptions | Wisdom Thrives

In a time of rising tensions and shifting narratives about identity, immigration, and belonging, it’s easy to forget what America is truly made of—and who America is truly made for.

Recently, a presidential candidate gave a warning to immigrants: “If you don’t like America, don’t come!” It wasn’t just a statement. It was a signal—a dangerous echo from a past some would rather forget. The tone, the attitude, and the underlying message spoke volumes: This country is ours, not yours.

But whose country is it, really?

For generations, America has been a land of many stories—stories told in many accents, lived through many skin tones, and passed down from many homelands. To be American has never meant fitting into one mold. It has always meant becoming part of something bigger—a promise, a pursuit, and yes, a struggle.

To be American is not about where your ancestors came from, but about where you choose to stand.

Yet, there’s a growing narrative—loud, forceful, and fear-driven—that suggests otherwise. That questions the Americanness of immigrants, Muslims, people of color, the poor, and the politically different. That tries to shrink the American identity into a single color, faith, or ideology.

But America has always resisted being boxed in.

From the indigenous nations who first inhabited this land, to the enslaved Africans who built it with stolen labor, to the waves of immigrants who crossed oceans and borders in search of opportunity—America was made through contradiction and courage, through pain and perseverance. Its greatness lies not in sameness, but in its stunning, complicated diversity.

And now, when some voices try to sow fear and division, it is more important than ever to ask:

Who is made in America?

Is it the factory worker in Ohio?
The teacher in Texas?
The farmworker in California?
The refugee child learning her first English words in a Minnesota classroom?
The soldier in uniform, or the single mom working three jobs?

They all are.
We all are.

Because the question isn’t just “Who is made in America?” The real answer is:

We all are—a rainbow nation made up of people of every color, size, and shape. A people of many faiths, backgrounds, and dreams—woven together by the shared belief in freedom, justice, and opportunity for all.

American people have always—through struggle and progress—stood in solidarity to defend and protect this nation’s greatest heritage: the values that define America. Values of inclusion, resilience, and unity.

Now more than ever, we must remember who we are—and who we are meant to be.