Can America Rise Above the Tide of History?

I have reproduced the following quote from historian Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler in the late 18th century many times in my Townhall and other articles over the years. But it is so good, and so perceptive, and so needed, and I constantly have new readers (I hope), that I simply must quote it again and make some relevant comments on current America.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

So said a great historian over 200 years ago. Where, gentle reader, do you think America is today in this sequential progression?

Folks, I hate to be a pessimist; I really do. It seems like all I do is write about how horrible things are in the country, how deep into a stinking, putrid, decadent toilet bowl the Democrats are dragging us as rapidly as they can, how Republicans seem to be utterly clueless of what is going on, and/or too gutless to do anything about it. I’d love to write that the country is firmly united together, is soaring to new heights of spiritual, moral, and economic strength, that self-control, righteousness, integrity, honesty, truth, and brotherly love are the dominant characteristics of our people, how virtuous liberty and godly patriotism are something that all Americans cherish and are willing to fight and die for.

I’d love to write about these latter things. But I’m not a liar; at least I try not to be.

I’m a historian, and thus, as realistic as I can possibly be, based on the teachings and trends of the past. And it is plain to me that America has indeed gone through most of the progression that Sir Tytler described. We became a great nation — not perfect, no nation ever is, and Tytler didn’t write about perfection; he wrote about the rise and fall of democracies and nations. Not every people in history — in fact, very, very few actually — have progressed through the sequence Tytler noted. How many readers have ever heard of the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Perizzites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Jebusites? Well, if you are a deep student of the Bible, you might recognize them. They are all mentioned in Genesis 15:19-21, but they certainly aren’t household names among most people.

No, most tribes never came close to the progression Tytler described. But America did. From bondage — a colony of England. But then those colonists developed a deep spiritual faith in God, and that led them to a thirst for liberty. Their faith in God produced a great courage, and they fought tyranny and won the liberty they prized. And that virtuous liberty led to the greatest economic power the world has ever seen, an “abundance” unmatched in human history. And yea, we still enjoy that abundance, and should be thankful for it.

But history has a way of biting people on the butt when they fall asleep. Abundance has its price, unless a people are supremely diligent. And Americans have not been. Americans have largely forgotten — and many have come to hate — the spiritual faith the country was built upon. We have followed the road of ancient Israel. God to Moses: “When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey…and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me…[and] many evils and troubles [shall] come upon them” (Deuteronomy 31:20-21).

That sounds almost exactly like Tytler’s “progression”; or perhaps, Tytler’s progression sounds like God’s. “From abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence back into bondage.” America hasn’t gone through Tytler’s (or God’s) full sequence yet, but what right-thinking individual can deny we are a long way down the road — and not on the uphill path.

Sadly, it's been the way of mankind from the beginning; that’s why Tytler — the historian — wrote what he did. It’s why I currently have trouble finding things optimistic to write about. I’m trying to warn us, not lie and paint a rosy picture of a glorious utopia. And, yes, while there are still many, many great Americans who love the country, who do truly want to “Make America Great Again”…folks, the only way we can “Make America Great Again” is to return to what made us great in the first place — spiritual faith, great courage, a love of virtuous liberty, a faith and appreciation to the God who gave us, too, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” There…will…BE…no greatness, if we don’t, as a nation, restore that which produces greatness. But when half of America has been taught to hate the country and the God Who blessed them supremely — and that pile of hypocritical haters has been among the paramount possessors and enjoyers of the very blessings they curse, failing to acknowledge it because they are nothing but a brood of vipers — well, pardon me when I have trouble being optimistic. Selfishness…apathy… dependence…bondage.

Americans are humans, too, and apparently aren't the kind of people who can defy history and rise above the tide. Sad, but nobody else has ever done it, either.

America will turn it around when all Americans open their eyes and hearts again. There is no other way.

Check out my Substacks: “Mark It Down! (mklewis929.substack.com) and “Mark It Down! Bible Substack” (mklbibless.substack.com). Both free. Read my great tales of the Old American West, available on Amazon and Kindle: "Whitewater," "River Bend," "Return to River Bend," "Allie’s Dilemma," and "Kendrick and other stories." Follow me on X: @thailandmkl.

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