Editor’s Note: The following op-ed is adapted from author Doug DeVos’ new book, “Faith! A Timeless Adoption of American Principles” (50th anniversary edition), (Post Hill Press, November 25, 2025).
Is America on the cusp of an incredible comeback? Or is America in decline?
You’ve no doubt heard (or even asked) these questions as our country prepares for its 250th anniversary next year – July 4, 2026, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It feels like everyone is asking these questions.
For the first time in history, fewer than half of Americans think our best days are ahead of us. More people think our best days are in the rearview mirror. Four in five Americans now believe their children’s lives will be worse than theirs. That number has doubled in just twenty years. And when it comes to the long term, more and more Americans are concerned that someone born in the future will be worse off than someone born in the past.
But is it true? Is America really in decline? I asked myself this question too. And my answer is a resounding: No!
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The Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground as Lower Manhattan is viewed at dusk, September 8, 2016, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
I don’t think we’re going backwards. I think we’re drifting. There is a big difference. We do not feel anchored in the core ideas that created the American experiment and the American Dream. We are carried along by the current and blown by the wind. But while that is not the same as decline, it is still a dangerous thing. America was never meant to drift. America is supposed to move forward with courage, uplift our people and lead our world.
Let me be clear: America remains in many ways the strongest country in the world. But we are not going to where we need to go and what we need to be. The good news is that we can get the country back on track. We just need to remember who we are and what we stand for – and then we need to build a future based on the time-tested principles that made us great in the first place.
What are those principles? Believe in people. Free enterprise. The family. Accountability and human dignity. Every generation of Americans has applied these principles to overcome challenges and overcome divisions. And that is what we must do today.
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We can’t wait for someone else to save America. Not politicians, no matter how important they are. No business or community leaders either. The real leaders in this country are you and me and all our fellow citizens. And while that may seem intimidating, it is also empowering. The future depends on you.
That future will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think it will be worse tomorrow, you will act accordingly. You will strive less and try less. You’ll try to get more than you give because after all, things are bad, so who cares?
But if you believe that tomorrow will be better, you will act very differently. Instead of sitting back, take it a step further. Instead of accepting the problems around us, you will ask how to solve them. You will never settle for the status quo because you know you can chart a path forward.
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The stakes couldn’t be higher. And if you don’t act, make no mistake: American drift could become a regression. But if you take action—if you apply the time-tested principles that define the best of our history—America will find its direction again.
What are those principles? Believe in people. Free enterprise. The family. Accountability and human dignity. Every generation of Americans has applied these principles to overcome challenges and overcome divisions. And that is what we must do today.
We have everything we need to move forward because we have you. Our people are still the most creative and enterprising in the world. Our economy is still the envy of the world. Hundreds of millions of people want to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. And our country’s story is one of incredible progress, driven by everyday people taking everyday action.
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This is how we tackled every challenge we encountered. We’ve overcome evils like slavery, established civil and women’s rights, and given more and more people a real chance to live their best lives. We have worked to make our union a little more perfect with each generation. We are not there yet and we still have a lot of work to do together. But deep in our hearts we all know it is possible, and you are essential to making it happen.
You have an opportunity to transform your future, your community, and our nation – to revive the American Dream. You have the opportunity to achieve extraordinary success and then help others succeed as well. And most of all, you have a chance to prove – to yourself and to others – that America’s days of drifting are over. If you stick to the principles that built and sustained this country, America’s future is bright indeed.
