What makes America great after 250 years has nothing to do with Trump

This piece is part of “America in the balance: the fight for our history and future,” a special series from MS NOW that explores where we are as a nation as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

The one thing at which the government truly excels is convincing the public of its own importance. It builds monuments to former presidents. It slaps the name of government officials on buildings across America, adds photos of current presidents to passports and names legislation after members of Congress.

In fact, the U.S. mint rarely adorns any currency with a portrait of an American who didn’t serve in some governmental or military capacity (congratulations to Samuel Morse and Chief Running Antelope for being among the brief exceptions). Not artists. Not scientists who cured diseases or built industries. Politicians. We’ve decided that the highest honor a nation can bestow on its currency is the face of someone who spent his career extracting money from people and deciding how to spend it.

Progressives like to use a quote commonly attributed to the recently departed Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.: “Government is simply the name we give to the things we choose to do together.”

But as America celebrates its 250th birthday, it is important to recognize that our nation’s greatness isn’t the result of legislative or executive action. “Government” is actually the things government does for itself, largely in service of its own perpetuation. The things we actually do together — the real American accomplishments — happen in the spaces that the spindly finger of the government hasn’t yet colonized.

The innovations that changed how humans live didn’t emerge from some bureaucratic process overseen by officials who needed another bullet point for a campaign fundraising letter. They came from garages, workshops and basements where people decided to build something without asking permission first. They came from restaurants, factories, laboratories and living rooms where Americans solved problems because they knew if they filled a need, they could make a good living for themselves, their families and their employees’ families.

American greatness evolved not because a narcissistic president jacked up tariffs, but because millions of Americans privately make billions of mutually beneficial economic decisions every day. Businesses incentivized by the prospect of making a buck created products that made everyone’s lives easier and revolutionized the world. There’s a reason Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are all Americans. Amazon.com wasn’t cooked up in a government lab — it was created by a nerd who thought he could sell books on the internet, and it now sells $715 billion worth of products per year. 

Of course, America is currently saddled with the stench of its current presidency and an obedient Congress unwilling to stop his rampant corruption. For many, the country’s 250th anniversary isn’t anything to celebrate; it is instead a reminder of how far we have fallen from our national dignity and sense of decorum. (Ironically, many of the people looking to “Make America Great Again” are willing to put up with levels of coarseness, incompetence and corruption that would have gotten a president thrown out of office during the times the Red Hat Army yearns to return to.) 

But America was recently handed a vivid example of how our contemptible government shouldn’t shade who we really are. Foreigners visiting for the FIFA World Cup were struck by polite Americans willing to help them and by businesses competing to serve them well. They marveled at American abundance, from giant department stores to free soda refills to ranch dressing. Like modern-day Alexis de Tocqueville, they beamed about American culture, hospitality and our bottomless well of optimism.