Lee Wishing: Enduring American Principles

Based upon our observations of American soldiers and their officers captured in this war, the following facts are evidenced," a foreign intelligence officer wrote. "There is little knowledge or understanding, even among United States university graduates, of American political history and philosophy ... of safeguards to freedom; and of how these things supposedly operate within their own system."

Believe it or not, those words weren't written by an al Qaeda operative. They were written during the Korean War (1950-53) by the chief intelligence officer of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in North Korea. In a 1957 response to those remarks, political theorist and historian Russell Kirk wrote, "Many Americans are badly prepared for their task of defending their own convictions ... against the grim threat of armed ideology. ... And in our age, good-natured ignorance is a luxury none of us can afford."

As we pause this Memorial Day to honor those who died to preserve our freedom, it's a good time to take stock of the threats to our nation. I believe the greatest threat is internal decay caused by a lack of knowledge of those things that make America great.

The Chinese officer's gloating inspired Mr. Kirk to write a primer on American political, economic and civil principles titled "The American Cause." Mr. Kirk defined the American cause as "the defense of the principles of a true civilization. This defense is conducted by renewing people's consciousness of true moral and political and economic principle." He continued, "The American cause is not to stamp out of existence all rivals, but simply to keep alive the principles and institutions which have made the American nation great."

As we prepare to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country this Memorial Day weekend, let us fulfill our duty to the American cause. Mr. Kirk says, "We do not need to invent some new theory of human nature and politics; but we do need, urgently, to recall to our minds the sound convictions that have sustained our civilization and our nation. Our enemies, no matter what resources they may have, cannot defeat us if we are strong in our own principles."

Dr. Russell Kirk's writings should be required reading for every conservative candidate for public office. His lectures, books, articles, and contributions are sorely missed today.

During the Bicentennial Year of the Constitution, he contributed to a volume entitled, "Our Ageless Constitution," (Stedman & Lewis) which outlined the principles and philosophy underlying the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

In Part I, under title of "The Genius of the American Constitution," Dr. Kirk observed:

"The genius of the Constitution and the men who made it is born of the marriage of practicality with political imagination. The Constitution is not a call to universal emancipation or a demand that the world be recast anew; it is not the work of radicals. On the contrary, the Constitution was the result of the labors of great inellects and was so constructed in 1787 that it would conserve hard-bought order and justice and freedom--and property, too.

"In the year of our Lord 1987, the institutional framework of the Constitution still stands majestically in these United States. And the genius of the Constitution, its spirit, still is at work in American politics. Whether the fabric and the spirit of our constitutional order will endure into the twenty-first century may depend upon the love and the intelligence of those young people, the rising generation of Americans, who are just now learning to read."

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