You wouldn’t know it from the headlines, but the United States is enjoying a period of relative peace and prosperity. The economy is humming. The number of active duty military troops deployed overseas is the smallest it has been in at least 60 years. And for first time in at least a decade, more Americans think the country is headed in the right direction than in the wrong direction.
But despite these happy facts, there is a nagging sense that all is not well in America. There is a lingering feeling that our nation is frayed and fractured, perhaps beyond repair.
This raises the question: The next time something terrible happens (the next Pearl Harbor, Sept. 11 terrorist attack, or economic catastrophe), will we be united enough to respond effectively?
Today, America is bitterly divided, not only over politics but more fundamentally over what America is and what it means to be an American. There no longer seems to be a common American identity, or anything that binds us together as a people.
America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values. The Declaration of Independence recognizes that our rights come from our creator. The Pledge of Allegiance declares us to be “one nation under God.” Our currency reminds us to whom we owe our ultimate trust.
But today, the pews are emptying and a majority of Americans do not consider religion to be an “extremely” or “very” important part of their identity. The Pledge of Allegiance is as likely to provoke protests as it is feelings of patriotism. Instead of showing reverence to our Founding Fathers, leading presidential candidates score political points by scorning them.
Capitalism has made America the most prosperous country in the history of the world. And yet, socialism is the preferred economic model for most millennials, even though most of them have never experienced it.
America has done more good for more people than any other nation in history. And yet, social justice warriors are trying to erase America’s past, and politicians are competing to lead this great nation by claiming that America has never been a good or great country.
America is beset by other problems that strike at our core and threaten our existence. The breakdown of the family and drug epidemic show no signs of abating, and the suicide rate has reached a decadeslong high. The growing cultural nihilism and embrace of a culture of death through abortion are weakening us as a people. The continuing efforts to promote tribal politics and to demean American patriotism are tearing us apart.
All of these things are making it more difficult to preserve the core unity we will need when the next big crisis comes.
Basic love of country is now seen as racist, capitalism as selfish, and traditional faith as intolerant and outdated. But these are among the shared values upon which our country was founded and which once bound our country together. Absent these values, what will keep us together?
I believe President Trump was elected in part because millions of people wanted someone who would fight back against many of these destructive forces. The Trump administration is doing its best, issuing directives to bolster the religious freedom that is enshrined in the Constitution’s First Amendment.
With its newly proposed immigration reform plan, the Trump administration is telling newcomers that, as a condition of citizenship, they must make some basic effort to assimilate to our way of living.
Without anyone ever voting on it, we are slowly losing the notion that we are an English speaking country. Language is one of our main cultural unifiers. Right now, there are parts of this country where immigrants can live their entire lives without ever learning English, because they don’t have to.
Under Trump’s plan, immigrants would need to demonstrate English proficiency and some level of “patriotic assimilation,” including a basic knowledge of our history and civics.
America has been tested many times before. When Islamic terrorists struck on Sept. 11, members of Congress met on the stairs of the Capitol for an impromptu singing of “God Bless America.” I cannot imagine that there’s enough unity today for Congress to come together to sing any song, much less one that asks God to bless our nation.
On the evening of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the nation in a radio broadcast. “Whatever is asked of us I am sure we can accomplish it,” she said. “We are the free and unconquerable people of the United States of America.” On D-Day, President Franklin Roosevelt led the nation in a six-minute prayer.
When the next great challenge confronts us, I pray we can summon the moral courage necessary to meet it, and the national unity required to defeat it.
Gary Bauer is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.
