The time is now to rescue the American idea.

• Author: Ryan, Paul
• Position: National Affairs - United States government

"The difference between the safety net and the Progressive bureaucracy is the difference between fair play and playing favorites, [as] our current president treats the rule of law like a rule of thumb.... The three branches [of government are supposed to] control each other so that none of them [can] control the people."

THE DECLARATION of Independence remains the defining statement of the American Idea and the greatest political statement of human liberty. We all know the stories about how the American Revolution was a difficult and often desperate struggle, but we forget in hindsight how unlikely it was that our forefathers would succeed. Many times defeat seemed all but inevitable. However, that small band of patriot-statesmen achieved victory against a long-established ruler of seemingly unlimited power and authority. They did so by remaining dedicated to America's cause and to each other, fighting hard at every turn, knowing that their success or failure would determine whether they, or possibly any people, would ever fight again for the great cause of self-government.

The U.S. has survived many great trials, and it has prospered and endured. I believe we are in a period of great trial again. Yet, I am confident that our country can survive, prosper, and endure for generations to come, but all of this depends--as it did in the spring of 1776, and in the fall of 1860, and at the end of 1941--on how we act to shape the course of events.

On the surface, the problem seems obvious: our current president treats the rule of law like a rule of thumb but, look more closely, and you will see the problem is not this president--or at least not only this president. When he leaves office, there will be plenty of politicians like him ready to take his place. All he has done is continue to empower a certain governing philosophy--one at odds with our founding principles. This governing philosophy has been gaining ground for a very long time, and continues to do so. The point is, the opponents of American conservatism see politics as a long-term project; we conservatives need to do the same.

In everything we do--in every policy we propose--we need to renew the American Idea. Conservatism in our nation is not about the past. It is not a misty-eyed nostalgia for a world that has come and gone, and it is not a skittish disposition to "go it slow"--to tinker around the edges; nor is American conservatism about blind opposition to government. For sure, government today is too big, bureaucratic, inefficient, and unaccountable, but we must not jettison the very rule of law that shields our liberty. No, American conservatism is about conserving something--principles that are timeless because they are true--to be renewed and applied in our time.

What is the American Idea? In short, it is self-government under the rule of law. It is rooted in our respect for the rights with which we each are endowed, a respect that shapes a society where every person can work hard, achieve success, and advance in life. For almost all of human history, a very different idea reigned supreme: the idea that people are fundamentally unequal, some born to rule and others to obey. Almost all were subjects or serfs--shorn of all distinction and with no ability to move up in the world or to provide a better future for their children. America's Founders rebelled against this. They declared that human beings are created equal, with unalienable rights that come from God. They declared that government is legitimate only if it secures these rights. They were the first to announce to the world--and then to prove by their example--that the best government rests on the consent of the governed.

Proving it by example was not easy. The Founders' first attempt at organizing a government--under the Articles of Confederation--failed, so they produced a new Constitution that both strengthened and limited the Federal government. It gave Congress power...