A few days ago I saw a very effective political commercial. I have grown tired of attack ads where the opposing candidate is depicted in black and white while the foreboding music plays in the background and the ominous voice-over tells of his or her evil plot to ruin our lives. This commercial was different. It was created and financed by self-made billionaire Thomas Peterffy. Mr. Peterffy, who pioneered electronic trading practices in U.S. markets and now leads discount-brokerage giant Interactive Brokers, embodies the rags-to-riches American dream. Born during World War II in Hungary, he spent his childhood behind the Iron Curtain, where he says the country’s national spirit was eroded by a system that took away the drive of its people to work hard, build businesses, and create jobs. He left for the U.S. as a young man and today his net worth has been estimated at more than…

“The great majority of Christians in America will never host a meal for someone from another culture making his home in the US,” said my friend across the table.  I immediately thought of my fortune not only in having been invited for dinner, but to have been “adopted” into an American family my sophomore year in college. In retrospect, it made all the difference in the world. I though it was a silly, frivolous prayer at the time. But in the depths of my lonely days as an international college student, I prayed to God for a family–more precisely, an American family. I had grown weary of not having a place to go during breaks, specially the long summer breaks. My parents in Brazil were financially struggling to keep me in school, my student visa limited the amount of hours I could legally work, and flying home during school breaks…

Today I will vote.  I haven’t been voting long, not because of my lack of interest, but because I became an American citizen in late 2004. Prior to that, I could express my opinion and comment on candidates and issues, but I could not cast my vote. Our political system is not perfect and our elected officials often disappoint, but America is still the place where the world comes to find freedom and opportunity, and I, for one, will exercise my privilege to cast my vote. Here’s why I vote today: To honor the lives of the men and women who fought for freedom. People have given everything so I could be free to cast my ballot. To preserve the opportunities that the huddled masses of immigrants like me have been given over the years. To make sure my children and their children will be able to live in the…