Former U.S. Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill reflected on America's 250th anniversary, praising opportunities for those willing to work hard while urging Americans to preserve the nation's values amid what he described as a growing hatred of its history.
O'Neill, who served with SEAL Team 6 during Operation Neptune Spear, emphasized the opportunities available in America, saying, "You can do anything, seriously, in this country." He encouraged more young people to step outside their comfort zones and contribute to America's success.
"I'm able to attribute a lot of my successes in life simply because I left the house," O'Neill said. "I went to join the military, and I did. In this country, I just proved you can do anything by not doing one thing. I just didn't stop. I never quit."
O'Neill's experience in the military was a "great honor" for him, as it allowed him to rise through the ranks on merit and earn a place on a team chosen solely on ability. He described his experience as an example of "the greatness of the country," saying, "That team was proof of equal opportunity."
However, O'Neill acknowledged that not everyone views the milestone positively, blaming a growing "victimhood" mindset for turning people away from the nation's history. He said, "Part of the issue is we stop teaching our kids the past, and we're actually raising a lot of victims."
O'Neill warned that the country risks deeper political division and, ultimately, "civil war" if it continues to import people based on untruths and fails to address the issue. He said, "We're at a place right now of institutional cowardice where we're importing people based on untruths because people in political positions know that they'll vote for them if they keep doing what they're doing."
O'Neill emphasized the importance of preserving America's founding values, saying the country is "fragile" as "it's still an experiment." He pointed to the British, Persian, and Ottoman empires as examples of powerful nations that eventually declined.
"We gotta realize that the American project, the experiment that it is, it's still worth continuing, and it's good to see that we made it 250 years, but also keep in mind, that's usually the lifetime of most empires," O'Neill said.
O'Neill urged Americans not to take the country's freedoms and opportunities for granted, saying, "We need to realize that we have been padded by two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic, and you don't want to do the whole 'don't know what you got until it's gone,' because this country is great."
