What Makes a Nation Strong?
Sometime in the late 1700s - appropriately around the time of the American Revolution - there was a French writer and philosopher, a pretty prolific fellow, named François-Marie Arouet. He is better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire. He was a student of history, an advocate for free speech, freedom of religion, a separation of church and state, and a key intellectual figure in the Enlightenment. In his career, he wrote many famous books, like the satirical novel Candide, and over 2,000 books and pamphlets on various topics. His works have given us many insightful observations on history, politics, and the machinations of politicians.
One of my favorite quotes from Voltaire is this one:
History is only the pattern of silken slippers descending the stairs to the thunder of hobnailed boots climbing upward from below.
Having lived when he did, Voltaire experienced this firsthand.
What happened to France then, what is happening to the nations of Europe now, and what is happening to most of the nations of Western civilization in recent years begs some examination, and an answer to the question: What makes and keeps a nation strong? Well, I have some thoughts. There are three things, three broad areas, which are necessary to keep a nation vital: They are economic stability, responsible and limited government, and a national identity. Let's look at each of these things.
Economic Stability.
A robust economy is vital, and the best way, indeed the only way, that is effective in the long term is through free and unfettered trade. The profit motive drives more economic activity, more innovation, and more investment than anything else. No government, no matter how many Top Men they sit at gray steel government desks, trying to plan an economy from behind their green eyeshades, can hope to improve on the millions, the billions of economic decisions made every day by free people. These decisions range from buying a candy bar to buying a house, and those decisions must be free, open, with both parties to any transaction realizing a gain in value.
Trade between nations is a little more complex. Trade deals, signed and sealed, are necessary, and any nation should, when negotiating such deals, place the interests of its citizens first. In fact, that should be the only interest considered. On the economic front, the United States is climbing back to where we ought to be.
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Limited, Responsible Governance.
Government is, as George Washington reminded us, a dangerous servant and a fearful master. That's why the government should be tightly restrained within constitutional boundaries. But the government is nonetheless essential, as certain distributed interests are best handled by government: The military, police forces, national infrastructure, trade, and other interactions with other nations. Government has but one purpose: To protect the liberty and property of the citizens.
Today, now, while our federal government is hauling our military out of the doldrums it has been in, many of our state and local governments are struggling. Many of our nation's great cities are nearing collapse. The elected officials in those cities are, by and large, con artists, mendicants, reprobates, and nincompoops. At the national level, Congress has been ignoring the Constitution since about 1860, and limited government is pretty much a dead letter.
There's no easy way back from this. It is the nature of government to grow ever larger and more intrusive, and history shows us that this isn't a dial, but a ratchet.
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National Identity.
This may be the most important one of all.
Too many people living here in the United States aren't the sort to feel a swell of pride on viewing the American flag or on hearing the national anthem. We have elected officials claiming to be "Guatemalan first, American second." We have millions in the country illegally, with no desire to become Americans, to adopt American culture and American values. We cannot afford hyphenated identities. The United States is a nation like no other, forged in rebellion. Our ancestors went on to build a nation that spans a continent, and people flooded to join us - to make a life for their families, to realize the opportunities America offers, to become part of the nation, to become Americans.
Now, today, we have too many people here who come here and immediately oppose everything America is about. These people should never have been allowed in. They should be returned, as is only just, to the lands they came from. In that, the United States is finally moving in the right direction, but there are problems: We need to move faster, we need to move more, and we need to come to grips that a lot of the worst offenders, the most anti-American people here, are citizens, born and raised in America.
That's a problem that's much harder to fix.
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In Conclusion:
Every story has an ending. Every nation, every empire, eventually falls. History is replete with examples; history is full of tales of those silken slippers being overwhelmed by the hobnailed boots. The upcoming nations, having just forged an identity, are strong. Many old, staid, stolid nations are complacent and weak - just look at the nations of Europe. It happens, time and again. To keep our nation, the United States, solid, stable, and strong, we need these three things - and a population that realizes their importance and is willing to vote for them.
For the last six months, we've been given a little cause for hope. But we contend with history. Every election now is more critical than ever before. Remember that - remember that on the first Tuesday of November, every year, you have the chance to cast a vote, to make your choice known. That's the price we must be ready to pay.
A final note, again from Voltaire:
It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
Dangerous? Yes. Essential? Also yes.
