In our free and open society, we have vast sources of information, with varying degrees of credibility. With the rise of artificial intelligence, we now also have to worry about computer-generated misinformation. How do we decide what is more or less true, or even false? The only way to do this in any coherent way is to have an overall point of view about the world. Here is my latest attempt to describe my own personal framework.
- Democracy is the best form of government. Democracy simply means that leaders at all levels are chosen by free and fair elections. Democratic methods may involve many twists and turns, but will lead to more stable government in the long run. For example, President Trump tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election but with absolutely no success. This was a stress test for democracy, which survived with flying colors.
- The U.S. Constitution was a brilliant achievement by our founding fathers. The Constitution was ratified by the 13 original colonies in 1787, meaning our country has survived for 236 years, by far the longest-lasting democracy in the world.
- The U.S. greatly benefits from being a republic as well as a democracy. We are a collection of states, each with many areas of responsibility under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. This decentralized nature of government is one of our country’s great strengths. The electoral college gives a slight advantage to the smaller states in the election of a president, which is appropriate to counterbalance the stronger overall influence of the larger states. States are free to try to improve services on their own initiative. For example, because of dissatisfaction with public education, ten states have, just in the past few years, established some degree of universal educational choice for K-12 students.
- Free enterprise is the best form of economics. Capitalism completely outstrips socialism in generating prosperity. Individual entrepreneurship leads to the greatest commercial advances. Of the ten largest companies in the world in 2023, nine are American. This proves the superiority of the American economic system. Business success in turn, leads to higher wages for American workers.
- Economic growth leads to social advancement. For example, African/Americans are moving up the economic and social ladder in greater numbers all the time.
- We need a strong defense to make sure that democracy continues to prevail. Democracy is not inevitable and we must be prepared to defend it. In particular, it is right for us to continue helping Ukraine to resist its invasion by Russia. This is the best way to deter China from attempting to take over Taiwan.
- Fiscal responsibility is critical. Our national debt is now over $33 trillion and out of control. The biggest problem is entitlement spending such as Social Security and Medicare. These programs must be reformed (not cut!) to make them sustainable for the long term.
Conclusion. Based on this description of my outlook on American government and society, it should be clear that I am a strong believer in the American way. Of course, we are far from perfect, but we have improved in many ways since our founding in 1787, and will continue to do so. We should be confident, but never take for granted, that we have the good fortune to live in the strongest, and one of the freest, countries the world has ever known. It is our responsibility to preserve this blessing; and pass it on in the best possible shape to our descendants.
For my Email Newsletter
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
It Does Not Add Up 
For each resident person of our nation, I suggest the Personal Credo by Robert Fulghum that appeared in his book in 1988, entitled “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.”
“SHARE everything. PLAY fair. DON’T hit people. PUT things back where you found them. CLEAN up our own mess. DON’T take things that aren’t yours, SAY you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. WASH your hands before you eat. FLUSH! — WARM cookies and COLD MILK are good for you. LIVE a balanced life – Learn some & Think some and Draw & Paint some and Dance & Play & Work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, Watch out for traffic, Hold hands, and Stick together.
Beware of wonder. Remember the little Seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up & nobody knows why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish & hamsters and white mice & even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned — the biggest word of all — LOOK.”
Now some 45 years later, it’s good to know that an instance of carefully crafted combination of words are unlikely to be understood differently in another 45 years, viz., 2078. I would include the words of Jack as well.
Paul J. Nelson
Thanks!