by Mitt Romney
Wall Street Journal contributor Michael Ledeen has warned that the world is simmering in the familiar rhetoric and actions of movements and regimes—from Hezbollah and al Qaeda to the Iranian Khomeinists and the Saudi Wahhabis—who swear to destroy us and others like us. I agree. These are evil men and they have made it very clear what they intend to do to us and to our allies. The challenge of our time is not to deny the threat, but to soberly and swiftly pursue the policies that will defeat it.
American Greatness
There are also good people and good nations. At great risk to themselves, many Danes valiantly helped Jews escape from the Nazis who occupied their country. The Australians, Canadians, British, Poles, Czechs, and many others engage wherever freedom needs defenders. And then there are our fellow Americans.
It is not uncommon to hear an American claim that the United States is the greatest nation on earth and the hope of the world. My European friends have confessed that they find this sentiment both naive and offensive, and when a Canadian colleague chided me for making the statement, I said that I was sorry he had been offended. But I did not say I was sorry for having said it—because I believe it. Given all that I have witnessed in my lifetime, and all the history I have read, I cannot not say it. I am proud to be an American. It is long past the time to begin again to proclaim the absolute truth of American greatness and its singular purpose and calling in the world as the protector and defender of human freedom and human dignity.
Most of us presume that modern history begins at the time of our own birth. I was born in March of 1947. The Second World War had recently ended, but it remained a major presence in many people’s lives, including those of every member of my family. During the war, my father had been charged with coordinating wartime production in Detroit’s auto factories, and many of my friends’ fathers had served in the armed forces in Europe or the Pacific. Ann’s father and my sister Lynn’s husband had been in the navy. Throughout the 1950s, World War II was regularly the subject of Hollywood movies and radio and television documentaries. The details of that epic struggle made up the conversations around my family’s dining room table. Mom and Dad talked often about the war, about FDR and Churchill and about our generals Ike and Douglas MacArthur, about Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and the battles of the Pacific and the surge toward Berlin. To most Americans today, I suppose, that war is ancient history. But not to me. I can still hear those conversations.
When I served my church in France during my college years, I made a trip to Normandy to see the beaches where our soldiers had come ashore to begin the liberation of Europe. It was a gray and windy day, and looking out from Utah Beach toward the English Channel, I felt waves of melancholy, but little grief. Then I saw the cemetery—acre on acre of perfectly aligned rows of crosses and stars of David. I was overwhelmed with a consuming sorrow for the young and promising lives that were so quickly extinguished, and I felt enormous gratitude for the goodness and the sacrifice of these men. As I walked among the graves, I experienced alternating waves of sadness and thankfulness.
The valor of America’s men and women in uniform did not end with that war. They have served the cause of freedom in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as in Lebanon, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, the Philippines, Liberia, Kosovo, and many unnamed places around the globe where we have sent our men and women to serve freedom’s cause in complete anonymity. During these conflicts, critics have always trumpeted charges that America had sinister motives. China accused the United States of intervening in Kosovo as a colonial effort to control Europe. Critics at home and abroad claimed that we entered Kuwait and then Iraq to secure oil for ourselves, yet we left after the first Gulf War and we still buy oil like every other country, even after we were obliged to return and topple Saddam for good. For the trillions of dollars those conflicts cost, we could have bought a lot more oil than either country will ever send us.
The critics may bellow, but facts are stubborn things. During my lifetime, America has paid very dearly in blood and treasure to secure freedom for ourselves and to win freedom for others. We have taken no colonies, only cemeteries where we have buried our dead.
The greatness of America lies not simply in what we have done with our power; it is also informed by what we have not done with our power. For more than a quarter century, America’s military prowess has dwarfed that of any other nation. We could have crushed nations that posed future threats or seized control of the Persian Gulf’s oil. These and scores of other actions we neither did nor even considered doing. So deep is restraint and goodness etched in our collective character that the abuse of our power is never even on the table or in the back of our minds. To those who are sanguine about the decline of America and the West, ask how many other nations or world actors would have exercised such restraint had they enjoyed such power.
My appreciation for America flows in part from our national sacrifice and forbearance. And it also comes from individual Americans, men and women whose humanity is as inspiring as our history. The first summer my family and I spent at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire is one I still remember well. We attended church in Wolfeboro on the first Sunday after our arrival, and halfway through the service, an elderly woman in the row in front of us began to tremble, slowly at first and then violently. She was quite crippled, and as her elderly husband helped her stand to leave, I asked if they needed help. When he turned to decline my offer, I saw he was blind. He simply smiled and said, We’ll do fine by ourselves: she’s the eyes and I’m the legs.
Robert Sterling lost his eyes in World War II, as well as a good deal of his hearing. Over the course of our summers in New Hampshire, I have watched him with interest and with reverence. He has memorized the 169-word sacrament prayers so he can take his turn administering it to the congregation. He makes comments from time to time in Sunday school and he acknowledges those who take his hand to say hello. I have never witnessed any bitterness, never heard a word of self-pity. He feels fortunate, he says, because he had many friends who never came home from the war that cost him so much. And the things he has lived for since the war have filled his life: his wife, his faith, and his country. His has been the face of service and sacrifice from that war, multiplied more than a million times. Like so many others of the greatest generation, he has now passed on.
As governor, I asked Tom Kelley to head the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Affairs. At sixty-four, he was the oldest member of my cabinet, and he was also the first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient I had come to know personally. One afternoon in June 1969, Lieutenant Kelley led eight river assault craft in a mission to rescue a company of soldiers pinned down against the bank of a canal in Vietnam. In the process of landing, one of the boats became disabled. Tom directed the remaining craft to circle the crippled boat, placing his own in the direct line of enemy fire. When a rocket hit his boat, shrapnel tore away a portion of his face and skull, and he lost an eye. He could no longer speak well enough to issue radio commands, but lying on the deck, he whispered his directions to one of his sailors, who in turn broadcast them to the others until at last the enemy was silenced and the boats and soldiers were safely evacuated. Like every other Medal of Honor recipient I have since met, Tom is humble and service-oriented, an example of how to live, given by someone willing to lose his life for others. Since the battle in which he was wounded, Tom has had many surgeries, but the injuries he suffered will never be completely disguised. I have not seen him wear his Congressional Medal, but his face is a profound emblem of honor.
O beautiful for heroes provedIn liberating strife.Who more than self their country lovedAnd mercy more than life!
The American spirit is just as evident at home as it has been on the battlefield. From time to time in the weeks leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics, I caught up with the Olympic torch as it made its way across the country. In New York City, the torch sailed on a ferry to the base of the Statue of Liberty. On board w
ere families of police and firefighters, each of whom had lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attack. They gathered at the bow of the boat, taking turns holding the torch high, just as Lady Liberty did, silhouetted behind them. As they hugged and cried and sang God Bless America, I remember thinking to myself, yes, He does bless America—with noble and courageous souls like those we had gathered to honor. These were the families of those who had rushed into the towers, who had mounted the stairs in hopes of rescuing those who had been left behind.
In May 1999, a devastating tornado hit Oklahoma City. A friend was watching the news. He turned to his wife and announced, I am going to do something for those people—it will take days for FEMA to get there. His wife reminded him that they lived a thousand miles from Oklahoma City, that they didn’t have anything those people needed, and that they didn’t have enough money to buy those things. Undaunted, he went out to his van and drove it to a nearby bakery, where a sympathetic owner and employees helped him pack the van with donated bread that he was determined to drive to Oklahoma. When a local radio station broadcast the story, people began to arrive with more food, clothing, and plastic tarps for him to take as well. A semitrailer truck arrived, and it was filled to the brim before his little caravan got under way. When they arrived unannounced at barricades outside the city, police simply waved them through.
Ann’s brother Jim lives in San Diego, and among his friends at church are Gary and Valerie Sabin, parents of five children, three of whom they discovered were born with cystic fibrosis. Their eldest son passed away when he was just nineteen, and not long thereafter, Jim heard that their daughter Jennifer was doing very poorly. She wouldn’t live much longer unless a lung donor was found who matched her tissue type. Jim volunteered to be tested, and he was a match. Within days, two-thirds of his left lung had been successfully transplanted into Jennifer’s body. She has since married and is doing well, although she will always struggle with her disease.
And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!
Given the challenges that America faces and the fact that so few of our leaders recognize them and are committed to doing something about them, it’s understandable that some of us become discouraged—and fearful. But I am not. I have seen the greatness of the American spirit time and again. We can be counted on to rise to the occasion. We are willing to sacrifice ease and comfort to help others, defend the nation, advance learning, and provide a bright legacy for those who follow us.
Some years ago, I traveled to Weston, Massachusetts, to attend a Boy Scout Court of Honor, the ceremony at which scouts receive Eagle awards and other honors. Because I was serving a lay leadership assignment for my church, I was invited to sit at the end of the head table, next to the flag stand. The speaker was a scoutmaster from Monument, Colorado, who described how his troop had purchased an American flag that they hoped they could make especially meaningful. First, they succeeded in having it flown above the U.S. Capitol, and then they petitioned NASA to see if it could be taken aboard the space shuttle. Astronauts can hardly fill the shuttle with souvenirs, but NASA officials said they would be happy to take the flag onboard the shuttle’s next mission. The speaker described how excited and proud his scouts were as they watched on television as the shuttle lifted into the sky with their flag. And then Challenger exploded.
The scoutmaster grieved with his scouts and with his country. He explained to us that he telephoned NASA a few weeks later, asking if any remnant of the flag had been found. He had hoped to honor the astronauts who had been lost by honoring that remnant. No trace of the flag had been found, his NASA contacts told him. He called every week from February until May, always receiving the same answer. Then in September he read an article listing the debris that had ultimately been found from the Challenger disaster, which included a flag. He called NASA once more and officials confirmed that the scout troop’s flag had been recovered, and arrangements were made to return it to Colorado.
The flag had been carried next to a number of souvenir medallions from other service groups like the scouts; when recovered, these had melted into a single lump of metal.
At the ceremony, the troop was presented with a container—a plastic bag in which the flag had been carried. When they opened it, they found their flag inside, entirely intact, free of any damage whatsoever.
And that’s the flag on the flagpole at the end of the table, the scoutmaster said.
With no small emotion, I grasped the corner of the flag and held it out so everyone present could see it. I suddenly felt as if electricity was coursing through my arm. I thought of the lives risked and lost, of the courage of the Challenger crew, and of the grief of their families. I thought of the pioneering spirit of astronauts, willing to explore new frontiers of knowledge and to further the lead of the United States. Along the border of the flag, the scouts had embroidered, CHALLENGER, JANUARY 28, 1986.
It is America’s abundance of people of character, goodness, and sacrifice that merit the protection of Providence and that preserve America’s greatness.
America! America!God shed His grace on thee . . .
Epilogue
When Ann finished reading the manuscript for this book, she insisted that I gather the primary recommendations from each chapter and restate them as plainly as I could. These include only those subjects considered in the book, and as such, do not include every important policy. Many critical areas are not addressed here, including Homeland Security, conservation, intelligence policies, agriculture, national infrastructure, and communications policy.
There are three pillars that sustain a free and strong America:
1. A Strong Economy2. A Strong Military3. A Free and Strong PeopleThe action steps to secure each of these include those noted in the Agenda, below.AGENDA FOR A FREE AND STRONG AMERICA
1. Promote small business and entrepreneurship (with lower taxes, especially where there is double taxation, by eliminating outdated and burdensome regulations, by refusing to impose unions on employees, and by enacting tort reform) 2. Stop the trillion-dollar deficits, and spend only what we have. No more borrowing for unnecessary nice to have government programs. 3. Publish an annual balance sheet for the country 4. Adopt dynamic regulations 5. Reduce and simplify taxes, especially double taxes that depress job creation. Do not allow taxes to be raised. 6. Adopt a strong dollar strategy, including spending restraint and entitlement sustainability reforms 7. Reform entitlements to make them sustainable in the long term and to honor all the promises that have been made to our seniors 8. Adopt an annual budget process for entitlements 9. Reform tort liability to reduce the burden of frivolous lawsuits10. Stop any new government-growing stimulus program11. Get the government out of General Motors—and other private companies12. Increase our investment in science and basic research13. Promote trade and American goods and services, insisting on intellectual property protection14. Protect the right of workers to vote by secret ballot15. Establish incentive and employer-based job-training programs to help people find new and sustainable employment16. Reform immigration to attract and retain talent, simplify the legal processes, and end illegal immigration17. Encourage shareholders and boards of directors to adopt reasonable compensation and long-term incentives for CEOs and executives18. Encourage the measurement of corporate CEOs and union CEOs on the basis of teamwork, productivity, and long-term success of the enterprise19. Test and enact consumer-market-like incentives in health care, at the state and federal level, including HSAs, co-insurance options, single-fee structures, etc.20. Let states craft their own programs to insure the uninsured, providing flexibility in the use of federal funds that already go to the states21. Enable insurers to establish incentives for healthy living and preventative care22. Reform medical malpractice23. Reform nuclear regulations to provide safety, not to block nuclear plants24. Build new nuclear power plants25. Promote coal and coal CO2 sequestration technology26. Promote natural gas and establish the infrastructure for it to fuel power plants and transporta
tion fleets—immediately27. Explore and develop new oil and gas wells, off and onshore28. Develop, test, and promote incentives to encourage energy efficiency investments by private and public users29. Establish a comprehensive energy security plan—a no-regrets plan—that frees us from dependence on oil oligopolists and that reduces our emissions of greenhouse gases30. Endeavor to establish global international energy and greenhouse gas policies that reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and global dependence on oil31. Establish an Index of Leading Leading Indicators to measure America’s long-term strength32. Stand by our allies and friends including Colombia, Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Ukraine, etc.33. Fast-track NATO admission of our friends34. Promote and defend democracy and Western values around the world, including in Honduras and Iran35. Deploy far-greater soft-power resources, with accountability, budgets, and regional envoys36. End the practice of pursuing meaningless agreements that will not be honored by others37. Establish a forum for democracies to collaborate and promote freedom, using NATO as a foundation38. Maintain a defense budget of at least 4 percent of our GDP, and at least twice the actual and comparable military spending of either Russia or China39. Add at least 100,000 troops to our ground forces; provide top quality care and benefits to our veterans40. Immediately replace and repair essential equipment and armament that has been lost in conflicts41. Update our nuclear deterrent42. Do not agree to reduce our nuclear capabilities such that we fall behind Russia; consider their tactical nukes43. Expand our commitment to missile defense44. Return our navy and air force to the levels needed to meet their respective missions45. Increase our commitment to defend against discontinuities, cyber-attack and space attack.46. Establish Special Partnership Forces to aid in removing insurgencies47. Push our allies to carry their fair share of the military requirements48. Attract top students to become teachers, with higher starting salaries49. Open pathways into teaching for individuals who have excelled in other fields50. Pay teachers like the professionals they are, and provide opportunities for advancement and mentoring51. Promote the use of student-performance measures, and do not prevent the use of these in the evaluation of teacher effectiveness52. Promote school choice, with vouchers, charter schools, etc.53. Promote cyber-learning, at school and at home54. Do not allow teachers’ unions to prevent the few in effec tive teachers from being removed from the classroom55. Do not allow teachers’ unions to prevent higher pay for better teachers and for those with skills in short supply56. Encourage states to develop programs that prepare parents of at-risk children for education57. Promote state and local programs to keep kids in school—teacher bonuses, mentors, curriculum matching, etc.58. Endeavor to provide the dignity of work in every safety-net program where that is possible, even if it costs the government more money to do so59. Teach our children to love America by teaching our history, by describing our patriots, and by extolling America’s greatness as the defender of liberty60. Teach our children the benefits to them and to their children of getting married before they have babies61. Remove the marriage penalties from safety-net programs62. Provide for a father’s financial responsibility in the care of his child, even if not married or in the household63. Reform campaign finance laws to remove the inordinate power of donation gatherers and to prohibit any organization from assessing individuals for political funds64. Appoint judges that follow the Constitution rather than invent a new one