In the famous Broadway musical “Hamilton,” King George sings, “Oceans rise, empires fall.” Perhaps few realities are truer for world history than the fall of empires or countries across the continents. In fact, some studies show that the average age for an empire is 250 years, while a country’s is approximately 150 years.
As we celebrate the 249th Anniversary of the United States of America this week, we should pause to consider the escalating crossroads our nation has faced for several decades. No empire is guaranteed another year of existence at the pinnacle of hallowed world history. Ask King George before the American Revolution – or any other previous leader of a now-vanquished empire in the thousands of years that predate us today. In fact, this upcoming year for our country should be a rededication to the ideals that inspired our Founding Fathers to rise up for independence and draft guiding documents that allowed America to become the envy of the whole world and the shining city on a hill.
Though America is still one of the world’s foremost superpowers, she has shown severe areas of decline that should be troubling to those who care about her future. Our national debt is over $36 trillion, which has skyrocketed exponentially in recent decades. The values that have governed our nation have dissipated, leading to moral ambiguity. Many individuals and governments do not respect or enforce the rule of law that holds communities together. God-given rights that Thomas Jefferson enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are no longer safeguarded by the government that was born to ensure the passage of those rights to future generations of Americans.
There are a number of reasons for these noted declines of our cherished empire – and others. More people than ever are being devoid of or apathetic to faith, leading to an eroding of the values that have served as pillars to the United States since before its founding. Our schools – from preschool to doctorate level institutions – have become cesspools of indoctrination for ideologies that threaten the very foundations of our nation. The lack of respect for and enforcement of the rule of law has manifested itself in open borders, which have inexplicably flooded the country with dangerous individuals from hostile regions from around the world.
Yes, the United States has grave issues – some of which have been given license to fester and metastasize. Yet, in spite of these blaring sirens of warning, Americans still live in one of the greatest countries and empires this world has ever known. We dwell in relative safety from active attacks from foreign enemies. We enjoy an overabundance of food, resources, and other items. Our freedoms are among the brightest and most protected in the world. And as the U.S. Supreme Court reminds us each year, our Constitution and founding documents continue to prevent a complete collapse of the framework of our republic. Millions of men, women, and
children across the globe yearn for the American Dream, American freedoms, and the American way of life.
Standing on one of the most prolific battlefields of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln stated, “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Lincoln, more than most Americans in our country’s history, understood the fragility of the empire that he led as Commander in Chief. He knew the forces that threatened to tear it apart, and he committed his life to ensuring that his beloved nation did not, in fact, perish from the earth. In the end, like some of our Founding Fathers, he gave his life in service to the nation that had given him – and countless others – opportunities, privileges, and blessings.
Today, we have different issues, threats, and challenges, but the same potential remains to topple an unsuspecting empire. Every year, our issues grow more pronounced and our enemies bolder to deliver a fatal blow to this superpower. President Ronald Reagan once said, “[Freedom] must be fought for, protected, and handed on for [our children] to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” Reagan’s words have thus stood as a warning to future generations of Americans. This empire we call the United States of the America is not guaranteed another day on this planet, nor should it be taken for granted by those who enjoy the blessings of liberty that our Founders secured almost 250 years ago.
So, as we mark another Independence Day and begin the countdown to our 250th next July, let us resolve in our hearts to rededicate ourselves to the ideals that gave birth to the United States from a collection of underdog colonies fighting against a superior world empire. Many empires have fallen throughout history, but we can be the generation that stems the tide of decline and rights the ship of American freedom for our children and grandchildren to ensure its perpetual existence.