The American Renaissance Is on the Ballot

Believing in an American future — not high gas prices, ICE, or even the Iran War (let alone the 12-year-old Russia-Ukraine War) — is what should matter at the ballot box in November.

Immigration is a key symptom of American fragmentation. Billions have been lavished on uneducated, unvetted foreigners while inner-city Americans and ailing veterans get the short straw. Add in the overuse of H1-B visas to fill our hospitals, corporations, and our universities with foreign doctors, professors, and high-tech professionals.

While some echo the mantra “Give me your tired, your huddled masses yearning to be free,” women and minorities in America fought for decades for the right to vote, get the education of their choosing, and own businesses and homes in their own names.

World War II brought women into the workforce — and many stayed afterward. President Eisenhower incorporated minorities into the military, the workplace, and the public school.

In 1968, Virginia Slims pushed “You’ve come a long way, baby” as a symbol of women’s freedom, independence, and modern success. About that same time, LBJ offered a devil’s bargain — stay single, and Uncle Sam will be your baby daddy.

In 1960, only 5 percent of American babies (22 percent of black babies) were born to single mothers. Today, it stands at 41 percent — 53 percent for mothers under 30. Over 70 percent of black mothers today are single.

The culture of dependency and victimhood is self-reinforcing and undermines hard-fought civil rights victories that culminated in Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. How long has it been since the prevailing politics of America focused on “the content of your character” and not “the color of your skin”?

Victimhood has become so entrenched that any person of color “ain’t black” who does not follow the narrative. Illegal immigrants — even killers and rapists — are seen as victims — not their targets. But so are Thomas Crooks and Luigi Mangione.

President Trump has sought to revive American manufacturing and promote transformational technologies like robotics and “superior” intelligence. His tariff-based diplomacy — largely aimed at long-running trade deficits with China — has enabled tax cuts and other stimuli that have brought 5 percent growth (Atlanta Fed) over the past three months.

While most of the $19 trillion in pledged corporate and foreign investment in the U.S. manufacturing and energy sectors has yet to get final permits that promise new jobs, the forecast is bright. Even formerly hostile governments are eager today to do business with America.

Just months ago, the first U.S. mission around the Moon was a roaring success. The promise of clean nuclear energy, boosted with federal grants and co-investments, is edging closer to powering data centers and other high-volume users of electricity. Robotics and AI are also creating new jobs even as they destroy others.

These positive steps have encouraged business startups and revivals, including new mining permits, to lessen U.S. dependence on foreign (mainly Chinese) sources of critical minerals. The Trump administration has invested in (rather than loaned to) innovative corporations, with the government’s share of the profits earmarked for debt retirement, “dividends” to citizens, and a sovereign wealth fund that could one day rival Norway’s.

Three things stand in the way of fulfilling the promises of an American Renaissance. First is the shocking failure of many American schools to educate students in critical fields like mathematics, science, and reading.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 22 percent of American 12th-graders are proficient in math; 45 percent score below the baseline. The numbers in America’s inner cities are beyond atrocious.

In Baltimore, just 7 percent in grades 3-8 tested proficient in math, while no student tested proficient in many city high schools. The same was true in Chicago. By contrast, in New Orleans, 25 percent of students were proficient in math, while overall proficiency has risen to 31 percent. Similar numbers now exist across Mississippi, and the “Mississippi Miracle” is now being considered for Philadelphia’s public schools.

The White House believes that many students will have brighter financial futures if they eschew college in favor of blue-collar jobs that often yield higher pay without student loan indebtedness. A recent study found that AI and other online learning can largely replace high-priced universities in producing graduates with marketable skills.

The second great challenge to an American Renaissance builds on words attributed to the Founding Fathers — that a free republic depends on the self-restraint, moderation, and moral character of its people, whereas tyrannical governments (like that in Iran) rule by force and fear.

The scope of fraud that has apparently been running rampant in state and local government as well as the private sector — and moreover, the reaction of many who protect the fraudsters — suggests that America is far from a moral society today.

The third challenge is a growing revolt against technology and the supposed spying on us every waking (even sleeping) moment. Big Brother’s power is the real fear in an age when individual corruption is often seen as a positive — “screwing the man.”

The raging revolt against data centers, like the anti-nuclear movement of half a century ago and the anti-oil and gas movement that still plagues the West, is an overblown emotional response (fueled largely by foreign money). Opponents magnify real concerns in nightmarish scenarios that, if believed, may lead to a collapse of the aging electric grid and the economy itself.

Those who desire an American Renaissance should address these three key issues — education for a shifting marketplace, a return to public morality across the board, and a recognition that technology has long been a partner in advancing human freedom — from the washing machine and other household appliances that liberated women from drudgery to the personal computer that now fits inside your telephone.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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