It seems with the induction of every new generation, the core values we must keep instilled need to be rediscovered. The figurative glue that holds us together is constantly being weakened as we lose sight of what gives it strength in the first place. We lose sight of what makes America great. What makes America greater than any other country is what makes us unique. It’s not the fact that we have the strongest military.It’s not the fact that we are the most culturally diverse. It’s not the fact that we have Hollywood, and music, and sports.It’s not the fact that we have amassed more wealth than any other nation in the history of the world. All those things are true, but what makes us great is what makes all those things possible: the U.S. Constitution. In 1789, a document was put into power that laid the foundation for what was to become the greatest country that ever was. A government that’s only role was to protect the people and their unalienable freedoms as human beings. A nation founded in the principles of free market and free will. Many of us have lost touch with this founding reality.
Some may argue that America was never great. After all, slavery was around during this founding period. But wasn’t America the first in the world to recognize this evil for what it really was and abolish it? Hasn’t America been at the forefront in almost every major socially liberating movement in history? We were the first to free the slaves. We were the first to give minorities voting rights. We were the major advocates of women’s suffrage. We are responsible for the civil rights movement. We defeated the Nazis. We cured more diseases than any first world country. We built the Panama Canal. We built railroads. We built skyscrapers. We made cars. We let people pray how they want. We let people live how they want. We let people say what they want. We are the land of the free. Emphasis on WE.
We are great, but we may not be for long. We are headed down a path where the platform that gave the groundwork for such greatness is being actively deteriorated. I fear for America’s future. It seems a common term tossed around is “fear mongering,” implying that someone is praying on unjustified fears people subconsciously have. Well, I am fearful and for good reason. I fear that my second amendment right to bear arms against the possibility of an overreaching, tyrannical government is under attack. I fear that political correctness getting in the way of truth jeopardizes our first amendment and our ability to have honest discussions about serious matters in the name of “being nice.” I fear for the rising tensions between police and black people, and the possibility of martial law being invoked in my lifetime. I fear the radical Islamists overseas who pose a looming threat to the West as we know it, and a president and a political party who refuse to recognize it for what it is. I fear we’ve gotten too nice. I fear we’re losing respect in the eyes of the world. I fear our freedoms, and our livelihood are under attack in the name of progressivism, and we must fight back. We need to protect our freedoms. Not just from terrorists, they only want our lives. The fight for freedom comes more subtly. This is a more serious war than you think, as it’s not an obvious one. You can’t see it on the surface. America cannot be defeated from the outside, unless we are first weakened from within. Well, I have frightening news. We are very weak within. Once the values that make us who we are become obsolete, so too will our greatness.
If we truly want to be great again, there are things we need and things we don’t. What we don’t need is cultural divide. We don’t need to spread hate, but we also don’t need to listen to narratives spread by the divisive mainstream media. We don’t need trade deals, and we don’t need free college. We don’t need politicians who have no one’s best interest in mind but their own and the people who paid for them to be where they are. We don’t need crony capitalists in our representative republic. We don’t need political correctness. We need to realize the struggle of the economically underprivileged. We need to respect the law enforcement who put their lives on the line to protect us. We all need to read our bill of rights. Not as a history lesson, but so we can all learn what made America great in the first place. Don’t compromise with people who want to take your rights because it is not a compromise. That’s not what the revolutionary war was fought for. I believe once we get back on track with the freedoms that make us great, we will be on the right path to a better future.
