America is Counting on Us to Continue Its Story

America is a great nation, despite being imperfect.

In spite of our flaws, mistakes and leaders who have let us down, America has achieved success in ways no nation has before. Not even our Founders could have imagined.

Built by farmers, tradesmen, businessmen, families, and faith. Leaders with big dreams, risking it all.

Unlike almost every nation in recorded history, America began not because of common land, language, religion, or economy, but, built around ideas, values and ideals.

Some left their relative fortunes and family behind. Many arrived with nothing but a belief. A fresh start.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And, yes, we must acknowledge, recall and teach that many arrived in America not by choice, not seeking to be here. Arriving in a land that would force upon them the opposite of freedom — not Life, not liberty and no pursuit of happiness.

The sin of slavery was part of the culture of many nations across the globe. But that’s context — not an excuse.

Yet this great but imperfect nation, ever-striving to live up to its ideals, was among the first to end this cruelty and inhumanity — shedding the blood of thousands. Working through our Constitution, laws and culture to atone for those sins — we opened up life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This great but imperfect nation has had its bumps and bruises, and imperfections — just ask the descendants of the Irish, Italians, Catholics, Japanese, and Hispanics. Or Jewish Americans today.

But, what separates America from so many is that ideal, our values driving us to do better, to be better. Our Constitution is the guiding roadmap and rules.

We almost always figure it out because most people came to America in the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to be part of and pursue the American Dream. We became that “Shining City on a Hill” — of economic, military and cultural dominance, because of that shared love of America.

Perhaps that’s why our “narrative” focused on the successes and the leaders. Leaders were almost exclusively portrayed as men of high intelligence, impeccable character and the embodiment of America. That was not accurate, nor helpful, no matter how well-intentioned.

Yet some time ago — consciously for some, unconsciously for others — in telling the story of America, educating our children, guiding our leaders and affecting our media — as happens in free societies, America’s pendulum swung recklessly in the other direction.

Every shortcoming was seen as a major flaw. Every mistake was intentional. Every sin magnified, meriting a cultural death penalty.

America’s greatness was not to be celebrated, but required an apology. Or, perhaps, we should not talk about America being great. The focus should be on our failures. Our historic leaders were not only unworthy of being cultural deities, but they should be canceled.

The pendulum had swung — be it an honest correction, or the design of foreign and domestic forces whose true objective was to use our very freedoms to purposefully tear down America, and pull us apart.

This was embodied in the textbook written by Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States. This became the history book for a generation, introducing the poisonous idea that America is a negative force, divided into “victims” and “oppressors” — even among elementary school students.

Now, there seems to be an understanding that Zinn’s ‘‘correction” was an overreach, perhaps not unintentional.

Americans came to this realization at various tipping points: be it DEI/CRT or suggestions that Lincoln was actually a bigot — or socialism is better than capitalism.

This divide of how one sees America and what you want America to be is now the benchmark for issues and elections. To me, it’s that fundamental.

In our free society, we can have these debates. We can push the pendulum back and forth — occasionally pushing so hard that the center of gravity moves.

But, we get to have these debates, live among freedom and opportunity and this wonderful standard of living because of our founding — guided by our founding principles.

Our motto is central: “Out of many, One.” (E Pluribus Unum)

Yet, we must be mindful that we are “One” because of our respect for and commitment to our Constitution, our Bill of Rights and the unifying principles of the Declaration of Independence: “they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This provides so much history, guidance and wisdom.

Whether your story begins on the Mayflower, in support of the Revolutionary war, a slave ship, the European waves of the early 1900s, as Vietnam refugees, or countless other histories, if you are here to pursue happiness, to preserve, protect and pass on the American Dream, we have a shared story. A shared duty.

Benjamin Franklin, counseled us centuries ago: “We have a republic — if we can keep it.”

This great but imperfect nation — and our children and grandchildren — are counting on us.

Guy Ciarrocchi writes for Broad+Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. A Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation, follow Guy at @PhilaFreedomGuy.