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Fix your eyes upon the greatness of America
Remember the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of the past.
| On December 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden, William Faulkner received the Nobel Prize in Literature. “I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work–a life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before,” he said in his acceptance speech. The latter half of that quote — the vision to “create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before” — is striking. It recasts the American novelist and short story writer as a pioneer with a philosophy befitting the great creatives, architects, and entrepreneurs of history. To take the raw substances of this ancient rock and man’s unchanging ways and refashion them into something daring and fresh is the crowning achievement of our mortal race. The innate image of a Creator, though he has confined us to flesh and blood, is the clearest proof of man’s celestial calling. Mere mortals who embrace that calling beautify our nation; the fruit of their industry adorns it. The Founding Fathers and our patriot ancestors raised the edifice, building on the foundation of the wisdom of the past. The American people have festooned it with their stirring novels, beautiful plays, evocative art, euphonious symphonies, tuneful anthems, enchanting poems, inspiring films, imposing monuments, jaw-dropping scientific discoveries, and an unbreakable backbone of small-town businesses, farms, churches, and parks. They have made our nation beautiful. Above all, statesmen and warriors have fought valiantly to defend our distinctive way of life and preserve our first principles. They have made our nation great. With Washington barking orders from the quarterdeck, Twain navigating from the pilothouse, Crockett shouting directions from the mast, Phillis Wheatley, Glenn Miller, and Norman Rockwell heaving at the ropes, and a thousand unknown soldiers rowing furiously below deck, the American Experiment has made its way into the Golden Sea.  But today, that ship is battered, its crew emaciated. The ghosts of past failed empires beckon us to join them at the bottom of the ocean. Rival crews threaten to surpass us. Saudi Arabia’s ambitious, eye-popping, and as-of-yet unbelievable city of the future, NEOM, would have dazzled Alexander Hamilton. China’s recently unveiled Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge — the world’s tallest bridge, complete with tourist attractions, a glass cafe, and a stunning nighttime spectacular — cut a two-hour drive into two minutes and was finished in less time than it will take to repair the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Confident nations aspire to build great things, to erect monuments for future generations to remember them by. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” We once believed that about ourselves. Now, we’re more likely to hide under the bushel.  Here in the West, we regurgitate paint on a canvas and call it art. We apologize for our history. From Lincoln’s elevated prose and Kennedy’s impassioned oratory, we have been graced with word salads and “the weave.” American culture is in rapid decline. Where have all the wide-eyed lovers of country gone? Will men once again answer the call to take pride in their nation, to exhaust themselves in pursuit of national greatness? Or will they take the path of lethargy, ease, and comfort, which can only end in decay? “The things that will destroy America,” Theodore Roosevelt warned, “are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.” In his famed Funeral Oration, Pericles charged the Greeks to “day by day fix your eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it….” As America nears her Semiquincentennial, we must do the same towards our country; fix our eyes upon her greatness, and resolve day by day to sustain it.  It is, of course, too late to build a futuristic city like NEOM or to surpass China’s bridge. But we can each play a part by attaching our bunting to the manor our Founders created. For indeed it is the small things — Phillis Wheatley’s poems, Glenn Miller’s melodies, and William Faulkner’s stories — that complete the portrait of Americana and prove to the world that we care quite deeply about this nation, after all. “It is [the writer’s] privilege,” the Nobel Prize-winning author concluded his speech, “to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.” |
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| Created: | 2025-10-24 00:25 GMT |
| Updated: | 2025-10-30 07:00 GMT |
| Published: | 2025-10-24 00:00 GMT |
| Converted: | 2025-11-11 12:07 GMT |
| Change Author: | Jakob Fay |
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