Utah Gov. Spencer Cox chose to begin the Western Governors’ Association annual summer gathering in Park City on Tuesday with a bold statement on American identity as the country approaches 250 years old.
Filing in front of the governors of seven western states to flank the U.S. and Utah flags were two dozen students of Hispanic descent, dressed in traditional Mexican mariachi attire, prepared to play the national anthem.
After the color guard exited the room, the band played “America The Beautiful.” The choir brought new life to his favorite hymn, Cox said, underscoring the power of America to unite people with distinct customs.
Then, Cox made his position clear on a fault line that has increasingly divided conservative commentators about what it means to belong in the United States of America — and whether mass immigration threatens to unravel it…