America at 250: The Threats to America’s Greatness

Success often sows the seeds of future failure. That’s the danger America faces now.

America is a great and powerful country. But this shouldn’t blind us to an obvious historical reality. Great empires rise — and fall. Just look at the history of the Roman Empire. Or the Babylonian Empire. Or the Mongol Empire.

Success often comes with a temptation — to abandon the things that made you successful. Think about an athlete who’s spent a decade training for six hours a day, six days a week. He makes it to the pros and signs a big contract. Suddenly, he’s a multi-millionaire.

The opportunity cost of his rigid workout schedule is much higher. The temptation is even higher if he’s exceptionally talented. Most teams will accommodate some rule-breaking from their star players. If he neglects his training, he’s even likely to be able to perform at a high level — for a while. But over time, this lack of discipline will erode his skills and ability.

You can see the paradox. His success led him to failure.

This pattern is also apparent among some families. One generation comes from poverty — scrapping and sacrificing so their children can receive an education. The second generation both knows the pains of poverty and has better opportunities to succeed financially. These children do well financially. The third generation has a plethora of opportunities, but not the pressure to make the small daily sacrifices that lead to success. They squander the family fortune. There’s even a term for this pattern — the “third-generation curse.”

But what’s happening isn’t a supernatural hex but a change in circumstances.

It’s another example of this paradox. The family’s success set the stage for the financial deterioration of future generations.

Now, think about America. Everything we take for granted today — the freedoms, economic prosperity and scientific innovations — rests on a foundation laid over centuries. Its pillars include Western Civilization, Christianity and institutions like the family. Key figures include Homer, Aristotle, Jesus, William Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus and George Washington.

America’s military is too strong to be defeated in a conventional war. But America has vulnerabilities. If you wanted America to crumble, you’d spend decades undermining what made this country great.

Look around. Teachers and professors now tell students that America is systemically racist. Never mind that slavery was a universal institution and that our country fought a bloody Civil War to eliminate it. Many universities stopped teaching Western Civilization. Professors replaced Shakespeare and other dead white men with authors who check more intersectionality boxes.

This garbage wouldn’t have lasted long in the marketplace of ideas, but it’s thrived in government-funded educational institutions.

In many places, the left has replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Leftists have defaced or removed statues of American heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Columbus. Many even refused to honor the American flag.

Christianity and the family have both faced decades of cultural assault from elite institutions. The Founding Fathers directly appealed to God for help and urged their fellow Americans to do the same. The left kicked God out of public schools. Now, many kids struggle to read, but they sure are familiar with the letters LGBTQ.

A flood of illegal immigrants has further weakened America’s foundation. Cultures aren’t fungible. Simply placing someone in America doesn’t make them an American. Assimilation is much harder when the melting pot is boiling over. Some immigrants want America’s money, but not America’s values.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” former President Ronald Reagan wisely warned. “It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.”

He was right. Next week, we’ll look at how to preserve America’s greatness for the generations to come.

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