Read the full article with all sources here

In 1946, sixteen-year-old John Perkins held his older brother as he died, shot by a deputy marshal in Mississippi.  He fled to California and swore he would never return.

Fourteen years later, he went back.  Ten years after that, lawmen beat and tortured him in a jail cell.  He stayed anyway, and he spent the next fifty years serving the community that had tried to destroy him.

From Thucydides to Sir John Glubb, historians have noticed a pattern:  When a society begins to celebrate what it once considered shameful, the shared values holding it together are falling apart.

America is in a character war.  Sometimes the enemy is in the other party or next door.  Most often, it’s the person in our mirror.

History offers no guarantee that we can restore our republic.  But it is clear that the time for courageous good character is now.

Consider these four questions:

Q1 - What is courageous good character?  It means doing what is right, especially when it costs you something.  It begins with faith, is guided by truth, and is proven by integrity.  Without good character, courage can be foolish or evil.  Without courage, good character is simply a thought.  Perkins had both:  He went back when Mississippi hadn’t changed, and after the beating, he chose love over revenge.  Courageous good character prevails, not by winning every battle, but by outlasting what opposes it.

Q2 - Why do we need good character?  Our Founders said so.  John Adams wrote that our Constitution “was made only for a moral and religious people.”  History confirms it:  When truth and integrity erode, trust follows, and decline is not far behind.  Today’s facts show the cost:  At least $20 billion in California pandemic unemployment fraud, millions of fake accounts at Wells Fargo, and only 7% of Americans rating the honesty and ethics of Congress as high.

Q3 - What is the impact of courageous good character?  Character is an inheritance.  The national debt has grown from about $2.2 trillion in 1986 to over $40 trillion today, nearly $300,000 per household.  Teen sadness and hopelessness rose from 28% in 1999 to 40% in 2023.  Our children are watching how adults live.  Perkins’s character multiplied into a national movement that outlived him.

Q4 - Why is courageous good character best for the common good?  A free nation cannot hire enough police, auditors, or regulators to make up for citizens who will not govern themselves.  America doesn’t need millions of heroes.  It needs millions of ordinary citizens who choose good character over temptation, short-term gain, and selfishness.  Here are three steps:

  1. Master it yourself.  Start with the person in the mirror.
  2. Stand firm, kindly.  When pressured to compromise, decline calmly and respectfully.
  3. Model it and mentor it.  Live it in front of your children and others you influence.

Want the evidence?  Read the full article with all sources here.

America will improve when more citizens have courageous good character.  It starts with one.  It starts with you.  It starts with me.

We can do this.

Simple Liberty unites everyday Americans to research the facts behind our nation’s biggest problems and develop solutions for the common good

…because politicians and billionaires won’t do it for us.

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