This July 4, I pledge allegiance. It took two wars to make me an American.

In Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, The Sympathizer, a character counsels, “You must claim America. … America will not give itself to you.”

I claim you. I married you, had kids with you, voted for you. We’ve changed, but we’re still in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Your quagmires now trump 2007, and many say you’re no longer their America. But my family has seen you at your worst and at your best. We’re not going anywhere. Sure, we’ve taken our kids to visit ancestral Vietnam, but America is home. This July 4, I pledge my allegiance. To our union.