It is a frigid morning in Washington D.C. as the man with a rendezvous with destiny climbs the podium on the west side of the United States Capitol. He has just taken the oath of office to become the 40^th President of the United States, and the nation he now presides over is a nation in the grips of a terrible economic recession, people are waiting in long lines and paying exuberant prices for a tank of gas, and democracy is in retreat by the communist menace. Yet this man, Ronald Wilson Reagan, remains defiant in the face of these challenges. In his inaugural address, he says the following: “It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We have every right to dream heroic dreams.”

This begs the question, how can some in the face of all that plagues us still press on in our beliefs. To every conflict in history, there is one thing that unites all great peoples, hope. Yes, that faint voice in your subconscious that urges you to soldier on no matter the odds. This is the main lesson that we can learn from men like Ronald Reagan, that we as Americans have inherited this indomitable spirit of optimism and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is carried to the future. This however, is not being demonstrated in today’s America however. Last week, I wrote about the divisive nature of the 2016 presidential race and of the American political landscape in general. This in truth is a microcosm of the true problem with America, we have lost our spirit.

This is for a variety of reasons, from the worst economic recovery in American history and the rise of Islamic extremism and other American adversaries just to name a few. Now as for me personally, I will admit I am not what you would call a numbers person, but like so many people I will go to great lengths to put a human face on our problems. To me, the day to day tragedies we confront appear in the faces of everyday people. They appear in the face of the protesters and police officers of Charlotte, North Carolina. They appear in the faces of coal miners and oil field drillers who have recently found themselves left out in the unemployment line. They appear in the faces of Iraqis who have no place to call home.

These faces, the millions of them must give us resolve. History is often made by faces, and we have the responsibility to keep those faces on the forefront of our minds. It is these faces that must give us hope. Just as the faces of the men on Omaha Beach, in Khe Sanh, and in present day Afghanistan give us hope. Just as the everyday people who roll up their sleeves and go to work to make America a shining city on a hill. This is why we must have hope, and God willing, we will never lose it.