Is America Doomed to Decline?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” — The Declaration of Independence
With the 250th anniversary of our nation upon us, many are reflecting on the past while also considering the future. What makes America unique? Where is the great American experiment headed? Are our best days behind us? Is America doomed to decline? Despite all America has overcome and achieved in the past, many people hold a pessimistic outlook for our nation’s future.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan delivered a charge to the nation in his Inaugural Address. His words ring resoundingly true today, nearly 45 years later. “It is time for us to realize that we’re too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We’re not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”
Reagan believed in people — that individuals are capable of making good decisions and contributing meaningfully to our country. Drawing on his creative side as a Hollywood actor, he coined “Creative Society” in 1967 for his vision of limited government and the preservation of freedom. Reagan believed government “cannot possibly match the great potential of the people, and thus, must coordinate the creative energies of the people for the good of the whole.”
A bright future for America begins with educating our next generation exceedingly well. This includes providing a historically accurate understanding of the country’s founding as well as the free enterprise system, which promotes individual freedom, offers conditions for entrepreneurship, enhances efficiency, and drives economic growth.
Despite being a nation of capitalists, one of America’s largest industries, K-12 education, has been publicly controlled since the near inception of our nation. In fact, K-12 public education is one of the largest monopolies in the world, with roughly 49.5 million students, almost seven million employees, and spending nearing $1 trillion annually.
Regardless of the ever-increasing astronomical spending, student learning is severely lacking. Earlier this year, our Nation’s Report Card revealed only three out of 10 public school students are learning to read or perform math at grade level. With an uneducated society, workforce, and electorate, the future of America will be bleak.
However, no matter the challenges we face individually or collectively as a nation, we must not despair. It's essential, as Reagan said, that we “believe that together with God's help we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.” Even more so today than in Reagan’s era, Americans need to believe! Believe in God. Believe every individual, created in the image of God, has inherent dignity and worth with gifts and a purpose, as well as creativity to solve problems.
Thanks to countless Americans, the tide is turning with progress underway to break down the public school monopoly and create a free market for K-12 education. What seemed nearly unimaginable to many people is becoming a reality. Just four years ago, less than one percent of children in America had access to a school choice program. Today, 17 states have enacted universal school choice, reaching millions of children with education freedom.
Consumer choice creating competition increases quality, drives down costs, and spurs innovation — all necessary and capable of changing the course of K-12 education from its current failing status quo to the best in the world.
We can and must, as Reagan urged, “…dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” America is full of heroes — everyday Americans who are taking personal responsibility in their family, church, and community, living with optimism and persistence, and transforming lives around them through their unique contributions.
Reagan explained, “You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter, and they’re on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They’re individuals and families whose taxes support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life.”
Our great nation, creative at its core, is not doomed to decline. Instead, America’s best days are still ahead because there is unlimited potential in our collective human ingenuity. It’s time we each, as Reagan implored, “renew our determination, our courage, and our strength…our faith and our hope,” because “after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.”
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