…rather than manage her decline.

Mark Caserta – Editor’s column

Ronald Reagan had a vision for America and a forbearing of her greatness that few could rival.  He never gave a speech that didn’t affirm our nation as the greatest on earth and wasn’t afraid to lift her lamp of laurels high for the world to see.  In fact, he saw America as a “shining city upon a hill.”

During the waning moments of his farewell address to the nation on Jan. 11, 1989, the “great communicator” once again championed the cause of freedom.

“And that’s about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the ‘shining city upon a hill,’ the president said. “The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.

“I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.”

Nobler words were never spoken. America yearns for leaders who will enthusiastically rise to every occasion, and indeed, pursue opportunity to espouse the prowess and exceptionalism of our great land.

But yet patriots’ hearts are grieving. Championing our nation as a shining city on a hill has succumbed to managing its decline in a world which has never needed her guidance more!  Often, rather than learn from the lessons of our past, history is rewritten to propagate the progressive agenda.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  I believe such vision drove our Founding Fathers to establish our Constitutional Republic and to pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to secure the blessings of liberty.

Where do you see America right now?  Do you see her as a “shining city upon a hill” or do you see her as a nation in decline for lack of guidance and adherence to principle? Do you have a vision for America?  Is the American Dream still alive for you today?

Carry these thoughts into the New Year and ponder your influence on humanity.

We can once again become a “shining city upon a hill.” But we must humble ourselves before an Almighty God, seek His face and allow Him to heal our land.

Let 2015 be the year you make a difference!

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page. His email address is mark@
freestatepatriot.com.

Tags: FSP, ronald reagan