Basic American values are not what divides us but what unites us. That politicians, on both sides of the aisle, use whatever they can to win elections and their rabid followers (those who would sooner die than vote for a member of the "enemy" party) cheer wildly when the sacred "values" word is invoked.
But, the true American creed is based on those principles that our country was founded on and that remain at the core of our pride. They include pluralism (America remains the only major country that lacks an ethnic identity. Populated, as it was, by settlers from diverse roots, we managed to build a society in a muticultural populace. It was, and is, quote a feat), opportunity (In a world that maintained social structure by geneology, America offered a shot at upward mobility and that most treasured treasure, land ownership. It is why so many thousands came to our shores, wanting to be a part of what we had) and tolerance (America was a haven for political and religious disidents. Our Constitution specifucally forbade the establishment of a state religion and, in its first amandment, it guarenteed freedom of speech, press and assembly)
The America haters focus on the imperfections and failed attempts to live up to our hopes but they are missing the point, of course. We are doing our best to be what we pray we can be and, if we fall short (as we must), we do not throw in the towel. Above the braying of the self-rightious right and the jeering of the holier-than-thou left, America remains, as it was, a glorious work in perpetual progress.