Is there hope for the American Republic? Of course, there is always hope, because America is built on timeless truths. Those truths can be mocked, ignored, distorted, or forgotten, but they remain true nonetheless.
Every spring semester, I have the excellent privilege of teaching “American Heritage” to college sophomores. In that course, we go from Plymouth Rock to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. As such, the story begins and ends in beauty and goodness. In between, though, there are some rough spots. Dividing the class into three parts, I focus on the colonial and revolutionary republican heritage in part one, the rise of evangelicalism, democracy, and racism in part two, and the horrors of ideology, modernity, and progressivism in part three. As I remind the students, we go from a golden age to an age of unrelenting horrors, at home and abroad. Think, for a moment, about the sheer arrogance of democracy in its support of slavery, in its removal of the American Indian, and in its internment of Japanese Americans. Indeed, as I’ve had the chance to argue elsewhere, democracy, everywhere and always, is filled with the hubris of a god complex and becomes a false and imperialistic religion, politicizing everything it touches. This has been true from Plato through the present.
Not surprisingly, as we discussed the rise of ideology and progressivism, a very good student always asks, “Dr. Birzer, do you think there’s any hope for America?” My answer is always the same. First, American—especially through the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—is built on timeless and evergreen principles, applicable to all men in all times. Second, though, can we actually save America? That depends on my mood, the very hour in which I’m asked. Some hours, I’m deeply pessimistic and believe the Republic is long over. Some days, I’m Reagan-esque and believe that we only have to remember what is true, and all will be well. Teaching at Hillsdale, especially given the quality of students, all of whom are patriots, it’s hard not to have faith in the future.
Still, the last few weeks have been trying ones for the republic. Let’s just list the difficulties. One, we’re in a war that most certainly has not been declared by Congress and the presidency has metastasized beyond recognition. Second, and related, Congress is impotent and has been impotent since Franklin Roosevelt’s wicked four-term presidency. Further, Congress is almost entirely corrupt. Think about how many members of Congress have made millions and millions of dollars on insider trading? Beyond that, how many members of Congress in either branch even think about the common good? I’m guessing less than a handful. And, ironically, the single best and most honest Congressman, Thomas Massie, has just been defeated in his reelection bid, not by the opposition party in a general election, but by his own party in a primary. Third, the levels of corruption in America are at record-breaking levels. According to the federal government itself (the GAO), nearly $500 billion (yes, that’s a half-a-trillion dollars) of public monies is lost yearly to fraud. With such levels of fraud, one must ask, is this accidental or intentional? That is, is the fraud actually a part of the system? To be sure, we’re at third-world levels of fraud. Four, in the last several weeks, it’s become orthodoxy among prominent Democrats to call for the packing the Supreme Court. Crazily, the Supreme Court is the only branch of government actually doing its mandated duty in constitutional fashion. It’s the one branch not out of whack and, by far, the least politicized of the branches. If the Democrats get their way, it’s game over. They will have completely destroyed the last remnants of the republic and the constitution. There will be no recovery from such a move. Truly, the crisis is existential. Finally, the levels of federal debt are beyond comprehension and, almost but not quite, beyond solvency. Our debt level is now equal to Gross Domestic Product. How, on God’s green earth, can we escape any of this?
So, let’s go back to that question. Can the republic be restored? Is there any hope? At the moment—as I type this—I’m feeling somewhat hopeful. That said, it’s worth remembering as all conservatives should that real change at any level of society takes immense time, sometimes generations and generations. Further, we must remember, even if we don’t change our current age, we preserve enough of the truth that future generations will have the material, the evidence, and the inspiration to redeem their times. In other words, it’s very likely that we’re Benedictines—preserving what has come before us—rather than Jesuits, advancing our cause like demigods.
First, and most importantly, we must struggle mightily to depoliticize society. I would argue there is nothing greater than this if we are to survive. It is our first need, a return to the natural order of things—to families, to churches, to local communities, to neighborhoods, to schools, to small businesses, to voluntary associations. We should remember that for Americans, we believe—through common law—that our laws emerge from the experience, the customs, and the norms of a people. Our laws should never be imposed from above, but those above should ratify that which is in nature and that which is in our traditions.
It is always and everywhere true, as Lord Acton noted, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Truly, our religious, educational, and economic institutions can become corrupt as well, but as long as there’s competition and no monopoly, there’s always a chance at decentralization.
Second, we must remember the virtues, and we must, so critically, love one another. When we see those in poverty or the homeless, we should not turn a blind eye and let political agencies take care of them. We should take care of them, immediately.
Forget pride, endorse love.
Third, we must never let our politicians think they are our social betters. Almost to a person, politicians are second-rate citizens, lesser men and women who crave power over others. They are tacky, not elite. To be sure, they serve us, not the other way around.
Fourth, we must remember that we live in a republic, and a republic demands certain things from its citizens. In particular, it demands that we give our best as individuals endowed with unique excellences to the community. Not by force, but by choice. Remember, Cicero reminded us, any virtue coerced is no virtue at all. We must freely give to our communities through love and respect.
On the nature of a republic, though, we must also remember that any public servant who benefits from his or her public service is guilty of treason and should be dealt with accordingly.
Fifth, though nearly impossible, we should seek to redress the current constitutional imbalance. That is, we should do everything we can to diminish the president’s power over war and military conflict. Yes, according to Article II of the Constitution, he is commander-in-chief—but only WHEN called into actual service. That is, the war power still resides essentially and critically in the House and the Senate. Equally important, we must block anyone—left or right—who calls for the packing and politicization of the Supreme Court. This is an immediate and existential threat to the republic, its present and its future.
Sixth, we must hold each of our representatives accountable for the budget crisis. They already take trillions in taxes, mostly without our consent, why should they not have the responsibility of using that money well?
Let me end with the second greatest republican who ever lived: Cicero.
Before our own time, the customs of our ancestors produced excellent men, and eminent men preserved our ancient customs and the institutions of their forefathers. But though the republic, when it came to us, was like a beautiful painting, whose colours, however, were already fading with age, our own time not only has neglected to freshen it by renewing the original colours, but has not even taken the trouble to preserve its configuration and, so to speak, its general outlines. For what is now left of the ‘ancient customs’ one which he said ‘the commonwealth of Rome’ was ‘founded firm’? They have been, as we see, so completely buried in oblivion that they are not only no longer practiced, but are already unknown. And what shall I say of the men? For the loss of our customs is due to our lack of men, and for this great evil we must not only give an account, but must even defend ourselves in every way possible, as if we were accused of capital crime. For it is through our own faults, not by any accident, that we retain only the form of the commonwealth, but have long since lost its substance.
If this was true in 43BC, it’s equally true in 2026AD, even as we are about to celebrate our 250th anniversary.
After all, as the greatest republican who ever lived, George Washington, reminded us,
I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
Is there hope? Of course, there is always hope, because America is built on timeless truths. Those truths can be mocked, ignored, distorted, or forgotten, but they remain true nonetheless. If not, then, for us or even our children or our children’s children, then for our children’s children’s children.
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The featured image is “Lighthouse Hill” (1927 ),by Edward Hopper, and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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