Residents of the United States are raised to hold two seemingly paradoxical beliefs: That the American nation's greatest contribution to humanity is its supposedly free form of government — and that this same free government stifles innovation. Similarly, Americans are taught to believe that so-called rugged individualists (often white men) are the great creators and inventors who change our lives. These ideas are especially ubiquitous online, where conservative commentators have influenced elections by popularizing right-wing political ideas.
Yet ironically, the same Internet which is used to propagate conservative assumptions is proof of their historical inaccuracy. The Internet as we know it would not exist if not for generous investments from the United States government. Hundreds of years from now, long after the United States of America no longer exists, it may be that the Internet is a far more important American contribution to humanity than the American government itself.
