The Land of the Free

"…O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"  

This question was penned by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812; by the dawn's early light, he yearned to know if the flag, and with it America's freedom, had survived the battle.  Now it seems rather prophetic: what made America free?  And is she still?  Do the red, white, and blue really wave o’er the land of the free?

Our founders took a valiant step in signing the United States Constitution in 1787: that special document granted more freedom—and more responsibility—to the American people than had ever been given to a nation before.  In his first inaugural address in 1789, George Washington called America ‘the Great Experiment,’ because the success of such a free nation was uncertain.  Washington recognized that in order for the established liberties to survive, citizens would have to embrace the accompanying responsibilities.  Justice Joseph Story wrote in 1883, “[The Constitution] has been reared for immortality … It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by the folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only keepers, the people.”  The responsibility, participation, and religious morality of individual citizens made America the land of the free; Americans cared to learn about the Constitution and generally accepted an inherent moral standard that caused them to embrace the responsibility Washington called for.  Today, as Americans reject religion and moral absolutes, and lose interest in the Constitution and its implicit responsibilities, our nation's foundation is crumbling.  We need to revive the fight for liberty that was so pivotal in the history of America.

Alexis de Tocqueville coined the phrase "American Exceptionalism" to refer to the unprecedented liberty, stability, and prosperity that thrived in America, based on concepts such as unalienable rights, limited government, and an educated and virtuous citizenry.  Our founders took these ideas straight from scripture and built the Great Experiment on a solid foundation.  The last thing they wanted to do was create a government or a Constitution that mandated a single religion, but as George Washington succinctly stated, "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."

At the birth of our country, Americans were qualified and proud to take part in the government of this great nation; they understood the Constitution and the values it was based upon, and they accepted a transcendent moral order.  In the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, "Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith."  America was a predominately Christian nation in which every individual had a sense of responsibility for himself, to his fellow man, and to his country.  Public schooling was created for two specific purposes: so that they could read the Bible for themselves, and so that they could learn the basic principles of American liberty.  Thomas Jefferson declared, “Whenever the people are well-informed they can be trusted with their own government”  True to our founders' ideals, early Americans accepted an inherent moral standard, understood that their freedom depended on their knowledge of and participation in the political process, and instilled that flame of liberty in the next generation.  These fundamental elements of society allowed the American Experiment to thrive.

Unfortunately, America is headed towards the failure of Washington’s Great Experiment, leaving Old Glory flying over a land that is less free every day.  Schools have strayed from fundamental literature, philosophy, and history courses, and so don't fully equip students to become the guardians of Constitutional liberty.  We have seen a subsequent decline in the overall enthusiasm of citizens for the Constitution and the participation it calls for.  In a 1998 survey of 600 high school and college students, a mere 35% could quote the first three words of the Constitution.  In 2010, a study conducted by Muhlenberg College found that only 28% of adult citizens even claim to have read the entire Constitution.

America’s wandering from the Constitution went hand-in-hand with its abandonment of religion and morality.  Biblical teaching was purged from schools, even as family circles and other sources of religious teaching began to deteriorate.  70-80% of Americans claim to be "Christians," but according to a 2009 Baylor Research study, only about 12% of Americans say that religion is relevant to their life.  Americans are straying from their belief in a transcendent moral order; and when morality disappears, our sense of personal responsibility follows swiftly after.  As Ronald Reagan so aptly stated, "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, we will be one nation gone under."  

We are forgetting what Adams and Jefferson and other early Americans knew so well—what made our nation great in the first place: that in order for the Great Experiment of Democracy to succeed, the people must have responsibility that stems from a sense of personal morality, and they must be knowledgeable and willing to contribute to the governing of their nation.  

The rising generation of Americans is one obsessed with rights, but forgetful of responsibility; many Americans want a free lunch.  They want the government to pay for healthcare, hospitalizations, meals in the form of food stamps, abortions, even birth control.  They forget that, as Thomas Jefferson so aptly stated, “A government large enough to give you everything you need is a government large enough to take everything you have.”  Our founders gave their time and treasure, blood and tears, even their lives to cast off the chains of tyranny, secure liberty, and ensure that future generations would enjoy freedom from dependence on the government.  Now, however, as young Americans cease to know—or care—about the Constitutional principles that brought prosperity to our nation, they are allowing the government to expand.  We must gather our wits and return to our duties, or we will find ourselves under the thumb of tyrants once again.  Author and speaker Andy Andrews explained that pattern in his book The Heart Mender, “America sought, from bondage, spiritual faith, from spiritual faith we found courage, courage brought liberty, and liberty brought abundance.  But that abundance created complacency, and complacency has led to apathy.  The political apathy that so dominates young Americans has led to an entitlement mindset, some form of government dependence.  That dependence will eventually bring us back into bondage.” 

The Constitution protects our life, liberty, property, freedom of speech and religion, privacy, right to bear arms, and right to a fair trial; and it limits the power of the federal government; these liberties that were bravely signed into existence by our founding fathers in 1787 depend for their survival on the guardianship of the American people.  But how can we defend the principles found in our Constitution if we do not know what they are?  How can my generation adequately carry the mantle of responsibility that will soon be handed down to us, if all we are concerned about is what we can gain from the government?  The answer is simple: we can’t. 

‘So, where do we go from here?’ you might be asking; ‘what now?  It seems so hopeless!’  Still, I believe there is hope for our country, for my generation, for the future of Washington’s American Experiment.  That hope is found in young people like those in my forensics club and across the nation who do care to learn about the Great Experiment and her Constitution, and who are willing to toil and sacrifice to preserve it.  We respect John F. Kennedy's admonition, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

By recalling the rich heritage of this great nation, by returning to the foundations of religious morality and to the history and philosophy behind our Constitution, and by transforming the mindset of this generation from entitlement to responsibility, we can restore the United States of America to what it is supposed to be: in the words of Ronald Reagan, “…a New World, and, yes, a shining city on a hill where all things are possible.”  Washington’s Experiment can survive; America can remain the land of the free and the home of the brave – if we are brave enough to do whatever is necessary, and give all that we have, to protect freedom.