“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division” —Jesus (Luke 12:51).

         Jesus and His apostles spoke often of the need for unity, so why would He say this? Because true unity is usually elusive until divisions illuminate the real and important issues. 

         In high school I marveled at how two people would become antagonists, which would usually lead to a fight, and then after the fight they would become friends! In history we see this same thing happening with nations and to competing parties within nations....

         Where did the term “American Exceptionalism” originate, and what does it mean? This term came from the French nobleman, diplomat, and historian Alexis de Tocqueville. De Tocqueville toured America in 1831 and wrote the classic two-volume set, Democracy in America. This is still considered the best analysis of the young American Republic, and de Tocqueville has been considered perhaps the most brilliant social scientist since its release. 

         It would be hard to find any study of any country that is wider in its scope, deeper or more insightful in its analysis, as well as prophetic, as de...

         Winston Churchill defined the ultimate clash of civilizations as between “the governments that are owned by their people, and the governments that own their people.” We are in this war now. We are fighting for whether we will be slaves or free, whether we will be able to determine our own destiny, or if every major decision in our lives will be made for us by government.

         Some people do prefer to have every decision made for them. This is why some who are released from prison will purposely commit a...

     For most of our history, America was considered the most positive, visionary nation on earth. A study released in 2019 declared America to be the most negative nation on earth. What has happened to us? Where did this plague of cynicism come from? What does this mean for our future? 

     Virtually every psychological study concludes that the most creative and productive people are those with a positive outlook on life. They also tend to be the happiest. Those with a negative outlook are rarely found among the high-impact, creative, and most productive people.  

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         We are the United States of America. Whether looking at our history or the present, one might think we are more divided than united. Actually, we are united in much more than we are divided about, and always have been. To have fifty independent states join together as a nation is a historic anomaly. To hold together for as long as we have is a historic miracle. Will this miracle continue? Every generation has had to decide this, and now it is our turn.

         Because the extremes in any group tend...