Mary Cantell

God has blessed America

She stands tall on Liberty Island above the sparkling blue-green waters of New York City’s harbor. Her verdigris silhouette can be seen for miles as the robed Roman Goddess of Liberty beckons to the tired and poor and those who wish to breathe free. She stands upon a broken shackle signifying the abolition of slavery and bears a torch to welcome immigrants from far and wide. Her iconic presence sends a message of hope to the world.

As I stand on the banks of the sunny harbor, tears draw to my eyes. The vision of liberty for America and its enactment throughout the years is without parallel. Where else but on this continent can a person with empty pockets and no education begin a life, raise a family, and through hard work, establish roots that are watered by personal strength and creative efforts? Through perseverance and innate skills, where else can one break through to nurture a dream, whether to open up a popsicle stand or an entire grocery store chain?

So fortunate we are to live in a nation where We the People are the sovereign and have the opportunity to partake in our God-ordained government. By casting our vote, we exercise our rights under the Constitution as well as our free will. By holding our leaders responsible, by keeping their feet to the fire, we can demonstrate our desire to be a Godly nation by being the salt and light that God calls us to be.

Sadly, standing near Lady Liberty is another statue. It hasn’t been erected yet—at least, not formally with an edifice. It is the statue of progressivism. While our country was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as endowed by our Creator, progressivism has inserted itself as the arbiter of liberties. It doesn’t fly under the banner of how the nation was founded and is now pounding on the door of freedom and liberty. With its tyranny and social justice, progressivism is standing at the threshold of the new social order.

This new way of politics seeks a sense of universal oneness—a spirit that we are all united by our very essence, that man is indebted to do away with the inequality, and where class distinction is eradicated. This attitude drives out the need to employ attributes such as natural talents and abilities, personal drive, initiative, ambition, creativity, endurance, and work ethic, which is what America is about. It sucks up the human spirit and further dehumanizes society by thwarting efforts to rise up to a productive lifestyle, all while eschewing capitalism as a valid means of entrepreneurial-ism and mode of free enterprise. This was not in the Founder’s blueprint for America.

I’m saddened by those who don’t understand that when man inserts himself as the standard by which all things are measured, such as with progressive socialism, communism, or globalism, things are doomed to failure. That they don’t see the thwart of its effects on the human spirit, alongside the self-centered sin of mankind that deifies man and ignores God, is truly blind and egregious.

America, land of the free and home of the brave, is the best idea ever conceived by human minds. It is precious. When vicariously witnessing the struggles of war our countrymen have endured and the blood and treasure sacrificed, I appreciate this country more with the passing of time.

Lady Liberty—the silent spokesperson for the bright and shining star on the hill—has weathered many storms. I fear, though, that despite her beauty and grandeur, she, too, may have a tear in her eye. But beyond the sadness, there is something within her, something palpable that she feels. The same fortitude that encompassed the spirits of the likes of William Bradford and the original English separatists, who braved the stormy seas and led hardscrabble lives on these shores, is still alive and well in America. Those same qualities of perseverance, endurance, and drive to succeed are thrumming just below her surface. The banner of hope she holds out is for not only immigrants but for every American to stand under—strong, determined, and willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to keep America thriving as a nation and a beacon of freedom for all.