My new favorite word: sonder.
It's the profound awareness that every person you encounter has experienced a lifetime of hopes, fears, loves, and heartaches that you'll never know.
Each moment of sonder is a reminder to appreciate how little we truly grasp about others' lives.
For my British and European friends who are "shocked" and "surprised", here are 10 reasons you didn't see this coming.
Read this short post and then read the replies from our American friends who will confirm what I'm saying.
1. Americans love their country and want it to be the best in the world. America is a nation of people who conquered a continent. They love strength. They love winning. Any leader who appeals to that has an automatic advantage.
2. Unlike Europeans, Americans have not accepted managed decline. They don't have Net Zero here, they believe in producing their own energy and making it as cheap as possible because they know that their prosperity depends on it.
3. Prices for most basic goods in the US have increased rapidly and are sky high. What the official statistics say about inflation and the reality of people's lives are not the same.
4. Unlike you, Americans do not believe in socialism. They believe in meritocracy. They don't care about the super rich being super rich because they know that they live in a country where being super rich is available to anyone with the talent and drive to make it. They don't resent success, they celebrate it.
5. Americans are the most pro-immigration people in the world. Read that again. Seriously, read it again. Americans love an immigrant success story. They want more talented immigrants to come to America. But they refuse to accept people coming illegally. They believe in having a border.
6. Americans are sensitive about racial issues and their country's imperfect history. They believe that those who are disadvantaged by the circumstances of their birth should be given the opportunity to succeed. What they reject, however, is the idea that in order to address the errors of the past new errors must be made. DEI is racist. They know it and they reject it precisely because they are not racist.
7. Americans are the most philosemitic nation on earth. October 7 and the pro-Hamas left's reaction shocked them to their very core because, among other things, they remember what 9/11 was like and they know jihad when they see it.
8. Americans are extremely practical people. They care about what works, not what sounds good. In Europe, we produce great writers and intellectuals. In America they produce (and attract) great engineers, businessmen and investors. Because of this, they care less about Trump's rhetoric than you do and more about his policies than you do.
9. Americans are deeply optimistic people. They hate negativity. The woke view of American history as a series of evils for which they must eternally apologise is utterly abhorrent to them. They believe in moving forward together, not endlessly obsessing about the past.
10. America is a country whose founding story is one of resistance to government overreach. They loathe unnecessary restrictions, regulations and control. They understand that freedom comes with the price of self-reliance and they pay it gladly.
@samanthavbravo@LACoFDPIO Our beloved Bluffs. Thank you @LACoFDPIO for all that you do. I love our lil community so much and our big beautiful country ♥️🕊️🌊🇺🇸
Fire crews are putting out sparks near Malibu Bluffs Park. No damage was made to the baseball field or skatepark. Forward progress stopped. Fire held at 50 acres with 15% containment. @LACoFDPIO
@MalibuPacific first Mommy and Son Dance happened. I love you so much Wolf. So proud of you and your funny, wise, kind heart. You make me smile everyday and feel like the luckiest Mommy in the world ♥️
So unbelievably late but thank you @marriot@powerscourtHtl for hosting our Christmas last minute last year when the aga broke... & Wolf's thoughtful present. TY to hotel manager Eamon, Sika manager Joe and our server Rory. Thank you for the exemplary hospitality always 🙏
Honored to coparent with this brilliant, colorful, complex man and to be loved by our wonderful, hilarious Wolf. Thank you @OliveTreeBath for the delicious Thanksgiving meal last week. Much to be thankful for always ✨
Thank you @AYSO_Soccer for all you do and another amazing season. Thank you coaches and volunteers and everyone involved who help make it so special and memorable 😍⚽️🙏 And thank you Popples for being the best Soccer Grandpa ♥️
Also paying tribute to Wolf’s hilarious great-grandma who recently transitioned from her Vietnamese home to a more heavenly realm. Her enduring strength, grace, beauty, &resilience leave an everlasting legacy that lives on through many lives. Thank you ♥️🙏Baks! xM&W 1922- 2023
Thank you @boyscouts for honoring those who served & embodying the spirit of service & love for our country. As a child of someone who grew up under communism, I’m reminded that in USA, we cherish freedom, honor sacrifice, & hope to pass on the torch of the American dream ♥️🕊️🌊