Op-Ed: America at 250: A Republic, if we can keep it

By Cathy McMorris Rodgers
The Center Square

On July 4, America will celebrate 250 years of independence. As our nation marks this extraordinary milestone, we should pause to remember where we’ve been, celebrate how far we’ve come, and ask an important question: What will it take for America to stand for another 250 years?

Benjamin Franklin understood the significance of that question. As he left the Constitutional Convention, he was asked what kind of government had been created. His famous reply has echoed through the generations: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

His answer wasn’t really about forms of government. It was about us. Every generation must decide whether it will preserve what it has inherited.

For nearly 250 years, the United States has been one of the greatest forces for freedom the world has ever known. Though not perfect, we have continued striving toward the ideals our Founders set before us, together working towards a more perfect union.

America has been a beacon of hope to millions seeking freedom and opportunity, and our constitutional system has unleashed innovation, prosperity, generosity and human flourishing.

What made America different from the beginning was not simply its form of government, but the revolutionary idea upon which it was founded.

The Declaration of Independence proclaims that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Those words changed history.

The Founders declared that our rights do not come from government. Government exists to protect rights that already belong to every person because they come from God. America is, in that sense, a God idea.

Long before July 4, 1776, John Winthrop envisioned America as a “city upon a hill.” Before independence was declared, the Continental Congress called for a national day of prayer and fasting. When the Constitutional Convention reached an impasse, Benjamin Franklin reminded the delegates that “God governs in the affairs of men.”

From the beginning, America’s freedom was understood to be both a blessing from God and a responsibility entrusted to the people. That responsibility belongs to us now.

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were ordinary people who, when history called, pledged “their Lives, their Fortunes and their sacred Honor” to an idea greater than themselves. Little could they have imagined what would grow from their extraordinary sacrifice.

The question before us is whether future generations will be able to say the same about ours.

Former Senator Ben Sasse recently observed that the center of life is not politics. It is your family, your neighbors, your church, and your community. It is where you learn to love real people.

You cannot love 330 million Americans all at once. But you can love the people God has placed in front of you. You can raise your children with character. You can serve your church. You can mentor a young person. You can help a neighbor. You can invest in your community.

That is where citizenship begins.

That is where character is formed.

That is where nations are sustained.

Too often, we imagine America’s future depends primarily on what happens in Washington. But republics are not ultimately preserved by politicians. They are preserved by citizens.

President Ronald Reagan warned, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” He was right.

Freedom is not inherited automatically. Every generation must cherish it, defend it and pass it on.

Scripture repeatedly calls God’s people to remember. Remember His faithfulness. Remember His provision. Remember what He has done. Because when people forget, they drift. The same is true for nations.

As America begins its next 250 years, perhaps the most important question is not what kind of country we inherited, but what kind of country we will leave behind.

The next chapter of America’s story has not yet been written. It will be written by ordinary Americans willing to do extraordinary things – building strong families, strengthening their communities, serving their neighbors, living lives of integrity, and embracing the responsibilities that come with freedom.

The Founders answered the call of their generation. Now it is our turn.

If America is to remain a shining city upon a hill for another 250 years, it will not happen by accident. It will happen because millions of Americans choose, day after day, to become the kind of citizens capable of sustaining a republic.

A republic, if we can keep it.