AMERICA’S PROMISE, OUR RESPONSIBILITY

America is not just an idea. We’re a particular place, with a particular people, and a particular set of beliefs and way of life….

— JD Vance

Throughout American history, one question has never quite disappeared: What makes someone an American? Is America defined by a shared ancestry? Or by a shared commitment to certain ideals?

Americans have answered that question in different ways. Sometimes those differences have been expressed through speeches and essays. Sometimes through elections and legislation. And sometimes through war itself.

What begins as a debate over ideas has often become a battle over the nation's future.

One recent answer came from Vice President J.D. Vance. Belief in ideas is not enough to be an American, this view holds. You must also belong to "a particular people." Heritage matters just as much as values.

This is a battle that every generation of Americans has contended with. Today’s generation is not exempt, nor is tomorrow’s generation exempt. We engage in this battle to defend the ideas that define America again and again. And if we must fight this battle, then let’s make sure that we are well prepared. Let’s sharpen our ideas, study past battles, and prepare to stand strong in defense of American ideas.

If we are to defend American ideas, we must know what those ideas are. And that is what our Democratic Creed is about. It is more than an easy-to-remember list of beliefs, one that fits conveniently in today’s social media shorthand. The Democratic Creed gives voice to the enduring American ideals that have guided our nation since its founding—our promise to protect the Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity that each American deserves. Like the Declaration of Independence that gave our nation its first breath, and Lincoln's reminder at Gettysburg that ours is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people," the Democratic Creed reminds us what America exists to protect. Freedom. Justice. Opportunity.

These are not new ideas. They are America's oldest promises, expressed anew for each generation.

We’ve seen where Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden stood on this debate. We can add Paul Ryan, Margaret Thatcher, George W. Bush, and even Bono to that list. And, in the aftermath of the January 6th Insurrection against America, the founders of the Lincoln Project reiterated:

America is the only country founded on an idea, and it was the most radical idea of its era; the belief that citizens could govern themselves. It was called The American Experiment because there was no reason to believe it would work. For 244 years, it worked, albeit imperfectly, and was an example to the world. On January 6th, this grand experiment nearly ended.

We call it a battle of ideas. But sometimes it erupts into a battle as we normally mean “battle”. We fight that battle, in words, in Congress, in polling booths, sometimes in the street. We fight that battle generation after generation, because we are determined to make “this grand experiment” work.

In 2018, as Arizona Senator John McCain prepared for his own death, he penned a Farewell Letter, in which he wrote:

“Fellow Americans” — that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world.

Every generation inherits America's ideals. Every generation is entrusted with their defense. That is the duty of citizenship.