“Europe was once full of two kinds of people,” a German politician explained. “One type of European was obedient, rule-following, with their feet firmly planted in the ground. The second kind was risk-taking, adventurous, and independent. Then one day, the second group all got on a boat and sailed to America.”

This European “origin story” of America is a beautiful one. America’s history is one of explorers, frontiersmen, and rule-breakers. The pilgrims and early settlers, like the later immigrants from all over the world, all came here as an act of venturing out into the unknown. We have self-selected for explorers.