I cannot get enough of the videos of those visitors coming over for the World Cup. They came to cheer for their teams, wave their flags, sing their songs and experience one of the greatest sporting events on earth. They are discovering something else. They are discovering America.

Not the America they have been told about. Not the America portrayed in the bleakest headlines, the angriest social media posts or the endless commentary insisting that this country is hopelessly divided, dangerous, intolerant and in decline.

They are meeting the real America.

They are sitting next to strangers at soccer matches and leaving as friends. They are walking into barbecue joints, diners, food trucks and neighborhood restaurants and discovering that American food is a lot more than the stereotypes they brought with them. They are discovering barbecue in one city, tacos in another, seafood on the coast, soul food in the South and immigrant traditions from nearly every corner of the globe.

And they are meeting Americans.

Ordinary Americans who give directions, recommend restaurants, talk soccer with complete strangers and sometimes cheer alongside visitors whose countries are playing against our own.

That experience matters because there has been a growing disconnect between the America people hear about and the America they actually encounter.

We flip the TV screen on and watch parts of our own media and you could be forgiven for wondering why anyone would ever want to come here. America is too often described as a collection of failures: our divisions, our mistakes, our inequalities and our political arguments. Please tell me what country on the face of the big ole earth has zero problems. Im waiting….show me. Our problems are real. America has never been perfect, and patriotism should never require pretending otherwise.

But there is an enormous difference between saying America has problems and saying America is the problem. A nation can acknowledge its failures while still celebrating its achievements. It can argue fiercely about its future while remaining grateful for its past. It can recognize injustice while also recognizing that millions of people around the world still see something here worth reaching for.

And perhaps that is the simplest test of all is just to look at the direction of the line.

For generations, people have risked everything to get into America. They have crossed oceans, waited years, filled out mountains of paperwork and left behind everything familiar for a chance to build a life here.

The line to America overwhelmingly goes one way: in.

That does not mean every American policy is correct. It does not mean every institution works as it should. It does not mean every citizen has received an equal shot or that our work is finished. It means that despite our flaws, the promise remains.

Freedom remains attractive.

Opportunity remains attractive.

The ability to speak your mind, build a business, worship as you choose, criticize your government, change your circumstances and dream bigger for your children remains attractive.

The World Cup is giving millions of visitors a chance to see that America for themselves. They may arrive expecting only soccer. They may leave talking about the stadiums, the cities, the enormous portions, the barbecue they are already trying to recreate at home and the Ranch dressing. Most of all they talk about the Americans who welcomed them.

And maybe we Americans should pay attention to what they see. Sometimes a visitor can remind you of what you have stopped noticing.

America is loud. America is argumentative. America is messy, complicated and unfinished. We fight with one another because we are free to fight with one another. We criticize our country leaders because we are free to criticize it.

On this 250th Independence Day, we should remember that gratitude and criticism are not opposites.

We can work to make America better because America is worth making better.

We can confront our problems without teaching ourselves to hate our country.

And as visitors from around the world discover America beyond the headlines, perhaps we should rediscover it too.

Not a perfect country.

Not a finished country.

But a great country.

And still, after 250 years, a country that people around the world are lining up to enter.

Happy 250, America. The greatness country on God’s earth.