Lou Cannon, in his new book, "Governor Reagan," talks about the former president's vision of America's mission in the world. He quotes from a speech given in Fulton, Mo., in June 1952, when Reagan said, "I, in my own mind, have thought of America as a place in the divine scheme of things that was set aside as a promised land." Cannon writes that Reagan's speeches throughout his political career described a divine purpose for America, emphasizing the duty of Americans to recognize the special nature of their national mission.
Political scientist Hugh Heclo has written that Reagan held a "sacramental vision of America." Sacramental because Reagan saw America as something sacred. Heclo deconstructs three parts of this vision. First, Heclo quotes Reagan, "God has chosen America as the agent of his special purposes in history." Second, America is, in Reagan's words, a "rescuing, redeemer nation." Third, Reagan believed in the immortality of America, one that broke the historical pattern where great nations in the past would rise, grow, climb and fall.
Of course, former President Reagan frequently said that America is the "last best hope of man on earth" and that America has a "preordained destiny to show all mankind that they, too, can be free." When I think of these words, I get calmer and my anger begins to recede. The sadness of 9-11 gives way to a sense of mission and purpose: Whatever I can do to help our war effort, I will do.
My sense of calm is bolstered by the recognition that America has recovered significantly over the past two years in both military and economic terms. We have unhorsed the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddamism in Iraq. While Osama and Saddam may still be alive, U.S. forces have either killed or captured nearly all of their top henchmen.
With God's help, we have not yet suffered any new attacks here at home. Business and the stock market are on the mend. There is no question in my mind that America will triumph in the noble cause of crushing terrorism, just as we defeated communism and fascism. Nor do I have any question about American exceptionalism and our mission in the world.
Like Reagan, I choose the path of faith and optimism. Just as the man I once worked for said many times, there is no doubt that "America's best days are yet to come."