Alexis de Tocqueville

In the early 1830s, a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to examine its civil institutions. His studies were expounded in the classic work, Democracy in America. In it, he wrote,

"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers — and it was not there … in her fertile fields and boundless forests — and it was not there … in her rich mines and her vast world commerce — and it was not there … in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution — and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous­ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

I found these other quotes by the same man that struck me.

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money"

"When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness."

"The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other"

"Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith"

Forgive me, but this doesn't sound the the country I'm living in. Maybe it once was, but that spirit has long ago departed. I find myself praying for its return.