I agree completely with Congresswoman Omar's comments in the article. I reject attributing things we disagree with to someone's religion or group identity.

I'm generally an optimist who sees who the US has amazingly free and full of opportunity, and I think it will get better over time, despite the real problems of people accepting gov't intrusiveness that promises to manage aspects of their lives and keep them safe. I say that, and people say it means I don't take the problems seriously. Omar says the same thing, America is great but doesn't always live up to its mythology, and some people say it's too negative. It sounds like basic bigotry or some other irrational thought process that happens to look just like bigotry.

So kudos to Omar for speaking some basic truths. It rings true that she appreciates America more than many natural born citizens. I often find people who made a choice to move here appreciate it more than people born here, and that makes logical sense.

She is so correct that we promote the brand of American exceptionalism, i.e. being a country based on Enlightenment ideas of liberty rather than an ethnic group that historically lived here; but also right that we don't live up to our mythology. She is so right not to pretend like we do. There's still a collectivist element that sees people according to their identity group, i.e. dismissing her as a Muslim, but frankly you can find a bigoted element of society anywhere in the world. She's right to face the reality and admit it aloud.