OPINION:
As we wander toward Independence Day, a lot of politicians will mention President Abraham Lincoln’s description of the United States as “the last, best hope for mankind.”
I am a little skeptical of that. I am sure the Egyptians, the Romans, the Spanish, the British and numerous other peoples were convinced that they were the last, best hope for mankind.
The unflinching truth is, of course, considerably closer to the sentiment of my good friend Paul, who simply offered: “You have not here a lasting city.”
St. Paul was right. Nothing built by man can long endure. That said, the American republic and its commercial, technological and military empire have managed to make life inconceivably better, richer, healthier and more peaceful for billions of people.
We harnessed electricity and invented lights, flying machines and television. We produced and refined oil and on and on.
For these things and everything else we have done, we and the rest of the world should celebrate July Fourth.
One of the things that makes Americans different from tribes that came before is that we have no sense of the past. Americans are, and have always been, all about the future.
On this particular birthday (a quarter of a millennium), perhaps we should, as many people do, take a moment to reflect on where we are and what we might need to do to preserve our nation for the next 250 years.
Start from the fixed truth that decline or growth are not organic functions or the result of gravity; they are the consequence of decisions made by citizens. With that in mind, if we were serious about preserving and strengthening a political republic that is attached to a commercial, technological and military empire, what sorts of actions would we take?
Well, you cannot have a nation of any kind without meaningful and defensible borders, and you cannot have a nation without the ability to decide who is and is not a citizen. Sturdy borders and clarity of purpose with respect to the value of citizenship seem essential.
For much of the past century in the western part of the Empire, Rome was run by non-Romans. How did that go?
A free and fearless nation would nurture a societal vibe that welcomed free thought, dissent and contrarian opinions. It would be characterized by an emphasis on patriotism and the greatness of our shared history. It would be built on an educational system that valued every citizen and recognized that each one of us has something to contribute.
Its foundation would be a firm reliance on divine Providence and a willingness to accept the will of God as the final word.
Such a nation would pride itself on a military large enough and fearsome enough to address truly immediate threats and modest enough to preclude adventurism. Such a people would have an unshakable belief in law and order and the necessity of an impartial justice system.
Empires come and go on this planet; that is just a fact of life. The Romans dominated the Western world for 200 years on either side of the birth of Christ. The Spaniards were unstoppable in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The English had the run of the planet in the 18th and 19th centuries. Russia, China, even Portugal have all had their turn at the wheel as the big boys on the block.
None of these tribes has ever matched the American record of the past 150 years. We have made life better for everyone on the planet, and we have done it with a minimum of conquest and murder.
One day, there will be no United States — at least not like we understand it — but that day is not today, and with God’s will and if we make the right choices, it will not come for at least the next 1,000 years.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times.
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