Preserve the Realm
Our American tradition of religious freedom and non-establishment is wise. It has sustained a vibrant religious culture while forestalling political control of religion—and religious control of politics. But today’s secularism and materialism are cancers in our way of life. If we’re to sustain a free society, we need to encourage the religious life of the American people.
A ruler’s first duty is to preserve the realm. This does not mean reform is unimportant. Original sin imposes a social law of entropy, so preserving a way of life invariably requires the constant work of renewal. As G.K. Chesterton observed, if one wishes to keep a fence post white, one needs to repaint it on a regular basis. Or as Newman said, “to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
Those who care for the American way of life must change. If we’re to sustain our culture of freedom we need to renew its foundations—family, civic loyalty, and the spirit of transcendence.
R. R. Reno