Writings about our country have long been dominated by benign, soporific eulogies to the greatness of America past. We are the country that evicted the domineering, imperialistic behemoth that was the British Empire. We successfully created a representative democracy outlined in the redoubtable words of the longest lasting constitution in world history. We settled the west, fought for equality for all, defeated totalitarianism in Europe and Asia, went to the moon, and invented the microchip, the internet and a cure for polio. But…
The malaise of the last few years has set in so that every comment about the greatness of America past ends with a “but”. But now we are in a lost decade. But now capitalism has failed and our economy cannot recover. But now our political system is defunct, never to regain its ideal form. But our people have lost their moral core.
These are all valid concerns and valid challenges. Our economic recession, resulting from the financial crisis of 2008 which illuminated serious flaws in the financial system and its inter-related relationship with government, has now spanned three years. A lost decade like Japan’s 1990s is not out of the question. The hyper-polarized nature of our political system, which culminated in the debt ceiling debacle this summer, has done harm to our external political reputation and our internal political confidence.
Americans, however, are a people of resilience. As political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville commented, “the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” In our history, we faced the challenges of economic disaster and emerged stronger than before. We confronted atrocities abroad and emerged victorious. We foresaw the changing landscape of the turn of the millennium and developed the greatest technologies in the world. And we can do it again.
On the great seal of the United States are three Latin phrases. Novus Ordo Seclorum, translated as “a new order for the ages,” represents the unique nature of the American experiment. This experiment combined the political philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome, a Judeo-Christian legal foundation, and the practicalities of the British Parliamentary system into a government never before seen in world history.
Annuit Coeptis, translated as “providence, [or God], favors our undertaking,” represents the spiritual foundation of the American experiment. We are an inherently spiritual people, bolstered in our spiritual foundation by the success God has shined upon us in our history. In some ways, we have lost our spiritual fervor, but the moral infrastructure is still in place, ingrained in every aspect of public life. Tocqueville stated that “Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.” It may not always seem to be the case but I still honestly believe that it is.
The third phrase on the great seal is E Pluribus Unum, translated as “out of many, one.” The diverse nature of the American population has always been a sign of the great success of the American experiment. Greater yet, however, is the fact that through that diversity has come one voice, one rallying cry for the values on which this nation was founded: freedom, liberty, unity, suffrage, morality, leadership. These values have been challenged—as they were during the Civil War—but the strength of American convictions has always been sustained.
As the challenges of the Civil War commenced, the dome of the US Capitol, the great exclamation point on the temple of American liberty and deliberation, sat unfinished. With the future of the Union unknown, President Lincoln ordered the dome to be finished, stating “if people see the Capitol going on, it is a sign we intend the Union shall go on.”
The future of our American Union may be unknown, but as Lincoln ordered in the 1860s, we should continue to seek and strive for a “more perfect Union.” Discussions of America should no longer be benign, soporific or elegiac. If history has revealed anything, it is that there is no challenge we cannot face, no conflict we cannot overcome, no task we cannot complete.
The Great Seal of the United States cannot and will not be broken. We are one nation born from many peoples, religions, ideologies, and cultures. Our diversity makes us stronger and it will make our successes greater. The success and consistency of our history changed the world forever. In the next few years, we can and we will do it again. It may not yet be morning in America, but the dawn is not far off.
