By
Guest Column by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose
A few years ago, I stood in a room with more than 200 new citizens as they raised their right hands and took the oath of allegiance to the United States.
They came from 54 countries, some of which restricted speech, persecuted faith, and seized power by force rather than by vote. What struck me was the look on their faces. Many had waited years for that day, visibly moved as they embraced what Abraham Lincoln called “a new birth of freedom.”
They understood something easy to forget in our fractured politics: America is still a refuge. It is a nation and a culture inspired by a revolutionary idea powerful enough to draw people from around the world to the promise of human freedom.
When Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he was asked what kind of government the delegates had created. He answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin’s words were both a declaration and a warning.
Self-government requires citizens worthy of the freedom they inherit. For 250 years, Americans have tried to prove worthy. We have not always done so perfectly. No honest telling of our history can ignore slavery, segregation, corruption and political failure. But the American story has never been about perfection. It has been about bringing our national life closer to our founding creed. The duty of each generation is to create a more perfect union.
We declared all men are created equal yet fought a civil war over slavery. We denied women the ballot, then amended our Constitution to recognize their right to vote. We tolerated segregation, then produced a civil rights movement that appealed to America’s own promise.
That is the miracle of the American experiment. Our founding principles gave us the standard by which we judge ourselves and the tools by which we improve. The Declaration gave us the language of human dignity. The Constitution gave us ordered liberty. The Bill of Rights protected the space to speak, worship, assemble and dream.
And within that space, Americans built.
Ohioans have used grit and grace to shape the American story. We settled frontiers, forged industries, invented technologies, gave the world flight, and sent presidents to the White House and astronauts to the heavens. The founders could not have imagined the tools in our hands today. But they would have understood the question before us: Can character keep pace with power?
In The Fourth Turning, William Strauss and Neil Howe describe history as a cycle in which generations are summoned into seasons of crisis and renewal.
Whether one accepts every detail of their theory or not, it captures something many Americans feel. Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low. Anger is high. Technology is changing faster than institutions can adapt. Too many citizens see politics as combat rather than self-government.
But crisis is not destiny. America has faced disruption before. The Revolution tested independence. The Civil War tested the Union. The Great Depression and World Wars tested whether free people could overcome despair and tyranny. Each generation that inherits uncertainty is asked whether the republic is worth keeping. Now it is our turn.
This year is not merely a nostalgic nod to our founding. It is a gut check, a chance to revisit the belief that rights come from God, not government, and to renew our duty to preserve liberty, strengthen families, serve our communities, defend the rule of law, and pass on a country worthy of our children.
So yes, we should celebrate America’s 250th birthday with flags, parades, fireworks and cookouts. But when the fireworks fade, we should hear Franklin’s challenge again.
A republic, if you can keep it.
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