American Ideals
In this time of wide divisions and animosity in America, it is good to step back and remember our founding ideals. The founders of our nation organized our government with certain ideals. It is the duty of American citizens to commit themselves to living up to these ideals.
We need to remember that our loving God established governments to protect people. According to God’s teaching in Romans 13:1-7, a government should encourage what is good and punish what is wrong. If we did not have government, everyone would risk being the victim of the sinful actions of others. Government limits those sinful actions by enforcing laws that protect all the people. The citizens of a nation have the responsibility to respect the government’s authority and to live under it.
One Nation Under God
The most important American ideal is faith in God. From the time that our country was founded, Americans have understood that our country is “one nation under God.” We have confessed that “in God we trust.”
Outside the beautiful Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
The Declaration of Independence, which established our nation in 1776 and which we have been celebrating this week, states that all men are created equal and that we are given certain rights by our Creator which cannot be taken away. Our nation’s founders believed in the God who created the world and who sustains life. Many had a strong faith in Jesus Christ. They believed that God gives value to human beings, that He guided the formation of our country and continued to guide it, and that everyone must answer to Him for how we live.
Freedom of Religion
We express faith in God as a nation; however, we believe in God’s power and love so much that we do not require everyone to believe the same way. The United States does not have an official religion. Most Americans believe that our government should not endorse, protect, or support one particular religion or denomination, nor do they condone persecution of the members of any faith. The U.S. Constitution supports every person’s right to believe as he or she wishes.
Our founding fathers expected that faith would be a part of public life. Many of them were committed to praying personally, and they prayed together as they founded our nation and as they began our federal government under the Constitution.
Personal and Political Freedom
Another American ideal is freedom, specifically personal and political freedom. The people of the United States are free to believe as they wish, say what they want, go where they desire, live where they would like, work where they want, and do many other things without being arrested or fined. An American citizen is free to start a business and to vote for the candidate of his or her choice. Our ideal of freedom has enabled Americans to use their talents and labor to make life better for themselves and for the nation and the world.
We must understand, however, that freedom is never absolute. Our freedoms are guaranteed within certain reasonable limits. A person who misuses a gun, for instance, loses the right to own one. A person’s speech in public cannot be false about another person or promote rebellion against the United States.
Spiritual freedom in Christ is the greatest freedom anyone can have. The truth of Christ makes us free from the bondage of sin. As long as our nation stands on the basis of the truth that is freely communicated, we will be free from the bondage that comes as a result of ignorance and of depending on others to tell us what they think we need to do.
Inside the beautiful Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Equality
Another national ideal is equality. The Declaration of Independence says that “All men are created equal.” This means that every American has the same worth before the law. The United States does not have royalty or an aristocracy, or a certain class of people who get special treatment before the law. The person who cannot read has the same right to a fair trial as someone with a college degree. Citizens of any race or national heritage have the same right to vote and to start a business.
We must admit that the United States has not always protected the ideal of equality for every citizen. For many years and in many places, Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans did not have rights that were equal to those enjoyed by white Americans. The United States has taken great strides to correct this situation and the process is ongoing.
Opportunity
Freedom and equality provide the basis for another national ideal, opportunity. The poor immigrant who comes to the United States with nothing may start a business and become wealthy—and many immigrants have done just that. Someone who has broken the law has the opportunity to regain a place in society. Regardless of his or her past, an American citizen has the opportunity for a better future. This ideal of opportunity has given millions of people the hope for a better life. The only limit on what people can accomplish is the limit of what they are willing and able to work for.
Unity
America was also founded on the ideal of unity. We come from a wide range of ethnic and national groups: Native Nations, English, Scots-Irish, German, African, Italian, Chinese, Scandinavian, Polish, Hispanic, Vietnamese, and many more.
We are influenced by the different parts of the country in which we live: New England, the Mid-Atlantic region, the South, the Midwest, the Southwest, the West Coast, and Alaska and Hawaii. Americans are Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and people of other faiths. In politics we are liberals, conservatives, and moderates. We are Republicans, Democrats, supporters of minor political parties, and Independents. With all of these differences, we can find many reasons to be divided. But the American ideal is unity.
Our common identity as Americans makes us able to live and work together. Citizens from all backgrounds serve together in the military. People from all different faiths can help a community recover from a natural disaster. Your political party membership shouldn’t matter when the country faces a threat from beyond our borders. Benjamin Franklin expressed the need for unity as the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and took on the role of traitors to the British king. Franklin said, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” A divided country is a weaker country, while a united country is a stronger one.
Because many Americans believe that God created all people equal, we respect one another and help one another. When we are unified and living in peace with one another, we can more easily influence others for Christ. This can lead to the even greater unity of being one in Christ.
The Purpose of Our Ideals
An ideal is a goal, a statement of how we think things ought to be. The American ideals of faith, freedom, equality, opportunity, and unity are principles that help America be strong and that help Americans have peace and well-being. Our ideals help us to become more of what we should be. We would be a poorer, weaker nation if we did not hold these ideals. We would not be a beacon of hope to millions around the world without these ideals. Holding to these ideals, defending them, and growing in them are essential to what it means to be a citizen of the United States.
American ideals help citizens live better on Earth, but Christians have eternal goals. Paul encouraged Christians in Philippi with these words:
I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14