America needs a strategic summary of value statements or propositions to guide her domestic policies, as well as her foreign policies. I hope the following ideas will capture that strategic intent. This strategic summary is a working draft and a work-in-progress.
What Makes America, America?
America comprises 50 sovereign states. The sovereignty of each state is paramount, not the power of the Federal Government.
America is a constitutional republic. That form of government was ideal for the original 13 colonies and remains as valid today for the 50 sovereign states.
America is a nation founded on common sense, individual freedom, and self-reliance. These values are still integral to our country.
America, as a nation, has been able to integrate justice, order, and freedom as the triadic underpinnings of our political system. These underpinnings need to be revitalized and restored to their former standing.
America is a nation of immigrants who came here legally. We are a nation of legal immigrants. Therefore, we should restrict illegal immigration to the maximum extent possible, because illegal immigration is unlawful and disrespects all the legal immigrants who worked so hard to become Americans in name and goals.
America should not entangle herself in foreign alliances, nor intervene in the internal affairs of other countries. America’s position in the world is as a role model for other countries to follow if they so desire.
Centralized Power & State Sovereignty
The centralized power of the Federal Government has become excessive. Centralized control is easily abused and corrupted. This centralized power and its various institutional agents should be unwound and decentralized.
Political power should be devolved back to the 50 sovereign states, as was the intent of the Founders. The concept of subsidiarity unerringly supports this gradual transfer of political power back to the sovereign states.
We will always have a certain number of people who are poor or who are not able to take care of themselves. Society should care for these individuals at the level of the local community or city.
The various welfare programs enacted in the 1960s should be downsized or eliminated to the maximum extent possible. These programs were wrongheaded when adopted in the 1960s; they are still wrongheaded, and they have become bureaucratic nightmares.
Natural Rights, Family & Culture
The three natural rights delineated in the Declaration of Independence are paramount. These natural rights are transcendent. All the other rights—legal rights, civil rights, gender rights, etc.—that continue to be defined or identified are legal entities and are subject to significant distortion and abuse by those in power.
The family should be restored to its rightful place as the nucleus of our communities and our society.
The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is an extraordinary vision and mission statement for our legal and political system. The Preamble and the Constitution still apply to the appropriate conduct of the political process in our country. Contrary to much of conventional legal wisdom, the Constitution is not a living document, nor does it need to be. The words of the Constitution are direct, clear, and easy to understand. These words do not support magical thinking, nor is there a penumbra that requires interpretation.
America needs a renaissance of its arts and culture. We have let the culture become coarsened and ugly. Much of what is depicted as art in our culture today is not art and is not beautiful. Nor does most of it require any extraordinary skill to create or make.
Religion and religious belief are necessary for a just and civil society. Human nature needs guidance for right conduct; religious belief provides an essential foundation for right conduct.
A Working Draft
I hope that this working draft can be added to and fine-tuned with the help of my readers and others who receive this post. I am open to receiving ideas from all quarters. My goal is to produce a tightly-written and easy-to-understand strategic summary of 25 to 30 principles, values, and ideas that will capture the imagination of the younger generations—a simple manifesto for America’s future that is aligned with the founding principles and ideals.
Readers and others may comment on this page directly or mail comments to my email address: renotraveler@gmail.com.
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Internal Link: https://whitebeardwisdom.com/what-makes-america-america
Very well said and I’m passing this on.
My dear Krista,
Thank you for your comment. How are you? You are often in my thoughts. I hope all is well in these troubling times. I remember you were always a big fan of Napoleon Hill. There are three writers whom I believe Napoleon Hill relied on for ideas and concepts: They are Charles Haanel, Vernon Howard, and Wallace Wattles. Somehow in the years between 1880 and 1930, these writers created a body of esoteric knowledge that is quite remarkable.
My post is a working draft and a work-in-progress. I am going to add some more comments at the tail end of the post to encourage readers to add to my thinking. Mine is just one man’s opinion. My goal to to create a one-page or two-page list of value propositions for the younger generations to ponder and reflect upon.
Best wishes,
Andrew
Dear Krista,
I have revised, edited, and re-formatted my original draft. Also, the original draft was duplicated. This version is much better in my opinion.
Best,
Andrew