Dinesh D’Souza found in the United States a land of opportunity: Free from India’s repressive caste system, here was a nation where the native of Mumbai could determine his own destiny, a land where a poor boy could actually improve his lot in life through education and hard work. To him, it was like being loosed from the chains of bondage.

The U.S. is not a perfect country, and it falls short of its own ideals, D’Souza discovered, but it is still the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.