Resiliency for Another 250 Years
If we look at America's 250th birthday as just a milestone, we’re looking at it the wrong way. Instead, we need to recognize what it really is: a reminder that the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever known is still standing.
When the Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to what was just an idea at the time in 1776, they established a revolutionary principle that has shaped the course of history: the American people alone would determine America's future. That principle of sovereignty, whether against England, despotism within our own country, or the tyrants of today, is what guides the mission of the American Security Coalition.
For 250 years, that principle has fueled unmatched prosperity, innovation, and strength.
America is incomparable. No nation has risen as quickly or accomplished as much in so little time. The United States transformed a collection of colonies into the world's leading economic engine, military power, and center of innovation. American ingenuity built railroads across a continent, electrified cities, revolutionized medicine, put astronauts on the Moon, created the internet, and continues to drive breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
America’s success wasn’t inevitable. It was made possible by the industrial spirit of its people, which rewards hard work, entrepreneurship, and ingenuity.
In the early days of the country, if you didn’t provide for yourself, accomplish new goals, or have a work ethic, you didn’t survive.
As we celebrate this historic anniversary, it’s time to bring back attention to those principles of ingenuity, grit, and hard work.
While the threats of old came across the Atlantic on a frigate, today’s enemies often arrive without an army. Modern threats to national security can look like economic dependence, foreign ownership of vital assets, intellectual property theft, supply chain disruptions, and foreign efforts to influence American institutions. It can also look like international organizations claiming well, seeking to impose excessive regulations on American businesses without consent of the governed.
While in years past, protecting America’s borders was as simple as maintaining the world’s strongest military, that’s not reality anymore. Today, it requires having a resilient enough economy, and protecting our largest institutions against foreign influence.
It all comes down to rebuilding the country’s industrial base. Some manufacturing is too important to ship overseas, especially relating to defense. Whether it’s microchips, steel, critical minerals, or pharmaceuticals, the products that sustain our economy and national defense should be made by Americans whenever possible.
Energy independence is just as valuable— you can’t use your infrastructure if you have nothing to power it. Underneath our feet, America has enormous reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, uranium, and critical minerals. By processing these resources ourselves, it strengthens national security, lowers costs for consumers, and creates high-paying jobs across the board. Most importantly, it ensures America is never reliant on foreign adversaries for fuel, in both war and peace.
The fight against our enemies is no longer just on a battlefield, and it often doesn’t even involve physical resources. One of the greatest national security threats of today is defending our educational institutions from foreign influence. Our universities, research institutions, and private companies have all produced some of history's greatest technological advances. If we leave them exposed to espionage or hacking, our intellectual property remains at risk of theft.
Likewise, it is essential to prevent outsized influence by international organizations like the United Nations or the European Union. American businesses should compete under rules established by the American people through our constitutional system, not regulations promoted by unelected officials.
One thing that hasn’t changed since 1776 is the importance of our land. Our farms and forests are our greatest resource, but are being bought up at an alarming rate by foreign investors, particularly close to U.S. military installations. American soil should remain in American hands.
Our freedom wouldn’t be possible without the people who preserve it. We thank the farmers who feed our country, the manufacturers who build it, the energy workers who power it, the entrepreneurs who reinvent it, and our military who defend it. Their constant striving toward serving a common goal greater than themselves is what made the founding a reality 250 years ago. It is their continued strength that keeps us going today.
The story of America is one of self-determination. If we remain committed to protecting our sovereignty, strengthening our national security, rebuilding domestic industry, and preserving the institutions that made this country exceptional, America's greatest chapters are still ahead.