The Greatest Nation in the World

With November here, I have thought quite a bit about our recent Veteran’s Day and our upcoming Thanksgiving. I have contemplated the blessing of living in this great nation and the cost of both gaining and maintaining freedom.

In Mitt’s book No Apology he mentions hearing Shimon Peres, Israel’s former prime minister, respond to someone’s question of what he thought about the conflict in Iraq. Peres said:

“First, I must put something in context. America is unique in the history of the world. In the history of the world, whenever there has been war, the nation that is victorious has taken land from the nation that has been defeated—land has always been the basis of wealth on our planet. Only one nation in history, and this during the last century, was willing to lay down hundreds of thousands of lives and take no land in its victory—no land from Germany, no land from Japan. America. America is unique in the history of the world for its willingness to sacrifice so many lives of its precious sons and daughters for liberty, not solely for itself but also for its friends.”

As a nation we have enjoyed many years of freedom and peace in our land and have been involved in helping others pursue the same blessings for themselves. We do not seek power or property, but peace and prosperity throughout the world.

We have so many brave and valiant citizens serving in our armed forces who understand the value of freedom, not only in our own nation, but for people everywhere. What a tremendous debt of gratitude we owe our military for their sacrifices. Their noble efforts bless lives beyond those of just our country, they influence people throughout all the world.

For their grander vision, for their bravery, for their unselfish service, our military deserves a “thank you” greater even than the sacrifices already made.

Now we must maintain the freedom for which so many have so nobly fought, and we must remain ever vigilant and strong in a world where our peace no longer can be taken for granted.

To do so requires a leader with both a love for this great nation, and an understanding of not only why America must remain the greatest country in the world, but also how.

Our nation did not become great through people bound by birth or blood, but by men and women, regardless of background, empowered by the ideals of courage, greatness, and freedom.

With a leader who emulates this vision, our nation will rise to the challenges we face at this moment. In this time of darkness and doubt, America will stand brighter as a beacon of light and hope to the rest of the world, willing to pay the price for greatness, understanding the blessing of freedom.

Return to Virtue

An Old Testament proverb tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

We see an epidemic of blindness throughout many parts of the world where governments have completely disintegrated and others are in upheaval, unsure of what their future holds. People have lost sight of freedom and hope.

Could it be what Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron calls a “slow-motion moral collapse” that causes societal melt down? In speaking of the recent riots in London, Cameron listed several contributing factors: "Irresponsibility. Selfishness. Behaving as if your choices have no consequences. Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without control."

Perhaps we have endured, pitied, and now embrace the vice that surrounds us, as Alexander Pope wrote nearly 300 years ago. Moral decay is not a modern problem. And it has a timeless solution—a return to virtue.

The word virtue come from the Latin root virtus meaning “strength.” If we are to remain a strong nation, we must be a virtuous nation. Religious leader, Thomas S. Monson described virtue as “a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.”

Virtue needs to lead the way on the path back to strength. We must issue a call for virtue. However, you can’t be a leader calling for moral strength and a return to virtue without being moral and virtuous yourself.

Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. We need his vision. Not only is he intelligent and experienced, he has high standards of morality and virtue. This strength is what America needs. This return to virtue will lead to a return to greatness.