With the barbarians at the gate— quite literally in the case of the homes of the Justices of the Supreme Court— and with our Potemkin President announcing his support of these “peaceful” protesters and the Attorney General going weeks before announcing a tepid measure of protection against these lawless hoodlums, I was desperate for some - any!- ray of hope amidst this darkness. Everyday lately I feel we are living in the opening sentence of Tom Paine’s The Crisis:
These are the times that try men’s souls.
Today, I stumbled upon a glimmer of hope in the form of a statement signed by a number of luminaries on the right, some of whose writings I respect most highly, entitled America’s Crisis of Self-Doubt. It reminds us, at a time we most need reminding, of the strength of the institutions bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers and the American people, who it refers to as “a marvel and its greatest resource.” While I set it out below, it can be found here should you wish to review the most impressive list of signers.
Here is their statement:
By THE SIGNERS
May 12, 2022 6:00 AM
A statement
We live in an age of increasing national self-doubt.
The American project, as such, is under assault. Our history is the subject of a revisionist critique that is all-encompassing, unsparing, and very often flatly inaccurate. Our traditional heroes are under threat of being run out of the national pantheon. Our institutions, from elections to the job market to law enforcement, stand accused of perpetuating a systemic racism that is impossible to eradicate. Our educational system, from kindergarten through graduate school, is increasingly a forum for crude propagandizing. Our system of government is attacked as archaic, unfair, and racially biased. Our traditional values of fair play, free speech, and religious liberty are trampled by inflamed ideologues determined to impose their will by force and fear.
The national mood resembles those of the 1930s and 1970s, when radical critiques of America got considerable traction and our national self-confidence often seemed to hang by a thread.
It is in this context that we reclaim what once was a consensus view of America that has now become bitterly contested.
No matter the fashion of the moment, we believe that America is a fundamentally fair society with bountiful opportunity; that its Founding was a world-historical event of the utmost importance and established governing institutions of enduring value; that its original sins have been honorably, if belatedly, repudiated; that it came to be wealthy and powerful primarily through its own internal strengths, not via expropriation and conquest; that its model of ordered liberty is a boon to human flourishing; that its people are a marvel and its greatest resource; that its best days needn’t be behind it, and that it remains a beacon to mankind.
To the extent that these notions are falling out of favor, it is the responsibility of those who love America to revivify them.
Even some on the right have become disenchanted with the American project and are prepared to quit on it on grounds that it is already lost or hopelessly corrupted.
There is no doubt that the country faces severe challenges, many the result of shortsightedness and wishful thinking, but we still have an enormous capacity for renewal. It is because our ancestor patriots rejected despair and kept faith with America that we are here to fight another day.
The ultimate answer to the illiberalism ascendant on college campuses and elsewhere and to the rampaging anti-Americanism of our elite culture will have to be found in the common sense and decency of the American people. The rule of law, federalism, and the protections of the U.S. Constitution continue to be bulwarks against the most ambitious designs of ideological fanatics. Families, churches and synagogues, neighborhoods, and voluntary associations — all under pressure — remain the foundations of society, more relevant to the lives of individuals and communities than social media or edicts from Washington.
In protecting and revitalizing America, there is no substitute for the hard work of public persuasion.
We represent various points on the conservative spectrum and may travel under different labels. We certainly have disagreements about policy questions and priorities. But we are united as devotees of America. We continue to be thankful for her, and we are determined to defend her and lift her up.
How thrilling it was to me to once again read phrases like “a fundamentally fair society with bountiful opportunity”, “model of ordered liberty… a boon to human flourishing”, “it remains a beacon to mankind.” How indescribably joyful it is to hear those notes of unapologetic and unvarnished love of country in a time when all we hear is “the rampaging anti-Americanism of our elite culture.”
My prayer is that there are enough of us who “continue to be thankful for her” and who “are determined to defend her and lift her up” so that she may escape these dark and cursed times back into the brilliant light of patriotism so many of us took for granted not very long ago.
God Bless America!