Republicans are gearing up for elections in November by drawing a clear line in the sand between their party and Democrats.
Republicans have rolled out what they call Commitment to America. And this is exactly what it’s about.
Our country embodies a worldview, and it is that worldview, and the principles that capture that worldview, that made and makes America a great nation.
The deep tear in our national fabric today is about a large part of the nation — those who support and vote for Democrats — that does not buy into the American dream.
The stark differences are evident in new polling from The Wall Street Journal.
When asked if you agree that America is the greatest country in the world, 91% of Republicans agree, and 6% of Republicans disagree. In contrast, only 61% of Democrats agree that we live in the greatest country in the world, and 34% disagree with this proposition.
What are the driving factors behind this deep contrast between the take of Republicans and Democrats on our nation?
I would call this a deep difference in belief in freedom.
The new Wall Street Journal poll shows a stark difference between Republicans and Democrats regarding whether freedom works.
Regarding the proposition “If people work hard, they are likely to get ahead in America,” 85% of Republicans agree, and 13% disagree. However, only 53% of Democrats agree with this proposition, and 46% disagree.
If you don’t believe that an individual holds his or her own fate in his or her own hands, then you cannot believe that freedom works. If you cannot believe that freedom works, so you don’t buy into the American ideal.
This is where we are as an electorate.
The nation’s founders were clear in the Declaration of Independence. All men are endowed with the right “to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and “Governments are instituted among men” in order to “secure these rights.”
That’s it. That’s the vision of America toward which the founders aspired.
Individual freedom is the core pillar of American reality. Government is there to protect individuals and enable them to live free lives.
If you don’t believe hard work will get you anywhere, so the American dream collapses.
This is the great divide today in our nation.
We might look at the just published 2022 Economic Freedom of the World Report by the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, to get a sense of human reality and freedom.
The Fraser Institute measures economic freedom in 165 countries around the world. Free countries have limited government and low taxes, less regulation, a legal system that protects life and property, a stable currency, and free trade.
The top 25% of countries in economic freedom have per capita income seven times higher than the bottom 25%, have life expectancy 14 years longer, and income earned by the poorest 10% that is eight times higher.
Our country is moving further and further away from individuals being able to live freely and control their own life. The result is the inflation we’re now experiencing and slow economic growth. Individuals sit by the sidelines, convinced they have no control over their own life, and want to turn it all over to government. It is destroying our nation.
This is what the Republican Commitment to America is about. Restoring the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that once was the American dream.
For most of our history, Americans celebrated freedom. The civil rights movement in the 1960s was about Black Americans protesting their inability to participate fully in this freedom.
But once they got it, many chose to not embrace it and turn their lives over to government.
But freedom is not something we can live without successfully. Democrats want Americans to buy that government power is the answer.
But the data, and human history, strongly suggest otherwise.
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website.
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