Everywhere we turn, the “chaos machine” cranks up anxiety, sows discontent, and cheerfully (for anarchists, communists, and those disavowing America’s exceptionalism) puts us in ill temper. But remember: We have more in common with each other than anyone else in the world. De Tocqueville knew that 200 years ago. He counted on us never forgetting.
Looking around, particularly in the wake of another ideological assassination attempt, we see a kind of public discouragement, people questioning whether we are going to be forever divided, whether we can ever get back to our “best selves.” We are disunified – and thus vulnerable.
Of course, when a people is disunified, they are vulnerable. That is how the radical left, adversaries inside and outside the country, those who want to “divide and conquer” us, would like us to see ourselves, but we need to draw on history, see who we really are.
Today, we are being divided – anti-constitutional violence is being pushed by radicals. But the reason is less mysterious than many may think. If we are polarized, it is less about policies than about our fraying culture, forgetting the history that binds us. The sooner we recall it, the better.
The core reason we are at loggerheads, with Progressives pushing Marxist-Leninist activism and conservatives harkening back to tradition, faith, family, and freedoms in our Bill of Rights, has less to do with new things than with what is missing.
What is missing? The answer – again – is rooted in history. In the 1830s, the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville travelled across America. He wrote a book called “Democracy in America.”
To this day, that book teaches us about ourselves. Americans are different. On one hand, we think of each other as equals. Europeans never did that. We also think each is given “inalienable rights” or freedoms by God – that no government can take away.
This dual understanding – a belief we are equal before God and have equal freedoms – forces us to compromise. We get the maximum liberty possible consistent with maximum liberty for everyone else. We can use what God gave, but not intrude on others.
When it comes to government, that means we need as little as possible so we can exercise all the rights God gave us. From the beginning, we were bound together by defending our freedoms.
But there was more to keeping the Republic together than this. Washington warned forces outside would try to divide us. He warned “factions” inside would try to pull us apart. We were warned – since the Founders fought against concentrated power – to watch out for it.
To understand what is missing today, what will bring us back together, we must listen again to de Tocqueville, who studied our culture. He said we are unique because we understand ourselves to be unique. We make our way as individuals and as a civilization.
He observed, words that echo and haunt: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” There was a warning.
He cautioned – State level too – power concentration is corrupting. “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
Admiring our character, he noted, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” He admired that Americans were faithful and gathered in “associations.”
He saw us as tough but humble. One looks hard for that in today’s leaders. “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults,” he reminded those of us who would carry the torch forward.
Last, he imagined we were smart enough not to forget our founding, and that this would – in divided times – save us. “When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.” He believed we would not forget the crucible in which we were forged.
So, if we were to identify what is missing – what is it? What is it that we had at our founding and are now without? What puzzle piece did we somehow lose – that would make us whole?
The answer, in a nutshell, is that we looked on each other – even with slavery not resolved – as equals with equal rights given to us by God, cherished America. We realized that every American had more in common with every other American than with anyone else anywhere.
We knew we were lucky, for that reason were grateful to defend the rights of neighbors. How do we get back to unity? We appreciate how we got here, reappreciate our founding culture, faith, family, freedom, hard work, each other, and the miracle that is America. The day we do that, everything changes. With the “chaos machine” in full swing, this would be a good time.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
