The Christmas story suggests that we can somehow try to be loyal members of our nations, our families, our tribes—and to reach out to the broader human community of which we are also a part.

The Christmas story doesn’t tell us how to reconcile the virtues and the vices of universal cosmopolitanism and local loyalty. But it suggests that we can somehow try to be true to both ideals: to be loyal members of our nations, our families, our tribes—and at the same time to reach out to the broader human community of which we are also a part.

The Christmas story doesn’t tell us how to reconcile the virtues and the vices of universal cosmopolitanism and local loyalty. But it suggests that we can somehow try to be true to both ideals: to be loyal members of our nations, our families, our tribes—and at the same time to reach out to the broader human community of which we are also a part.

Little progress can be made toward improving the human condition of migrants without acknowledging the central role of the nation-state.

The very idea of the American nation-state seems to be losing its importance. In its stead, Americans have unfortunately moved toward cosmopolitanism and—for millennials especially—identity politics.

Cosmopolitanism can be a particularly pernicious temptation because it invites us to love the idealized reality of humanity above our actual flesh and blood neighbors who live next door.