(Editor’s note: This is the 1st of 10 articles serializing Executive Editor Michael Ryan’s ebook YouRule!: How Saving America Depends Entirely on You And What You Can Do About It.)
Congratulations! Welcome to the Board of Directors of the United States of America.
You see, in this country you rule. You are your own czar, emperor, monarch, prince and potentate. Bet you didn’t know that. Bet most of us don’t even know a potentate from a potato, but you are one. Potentate, that is.
In short, you are in charge of the most powerful nation in history, one forged in freedom with the highest ideals known to man, and protected by the blood of patriots.
Don’t mess it up.
Just kidding. I’m confident you won’t. Not with this quick-read, handy-dandy Potentate Owner’s Manual. In it, you’ll learn—or just get excited about—what makes this country tick and how to keep it humming. It is, after all, your responsibility as a sovereign citizen to know this stuff.
Problem is—and it’s a HUGE problem—a great many Americans either don’t know or don’t care about this sacred responsibility.
In the historical film Braveheart, a character says of early Scotland, “From top to bottom this country has no sense of itself.” Isn’t that America today? It would seem so. Too many of us aren’t familiar with the country’s foundational concepts and, in many cases, are dismissive of them—as evidenced by repeated attacks on freedom of speech and religion and other constitutional rights.
Huge swaths of the population, and ominously many of our young, can’t pass a basic American civics test, recall any of the five First Amendment rights, or name the three branches of government—and have less of a clue when it comes to U.S. history.
Nor might they even care: A Wall Street Journal-NORC poll in March 2023 found that patriotism is “very important” to only 38% of Americans, and just 23% of adults under 30. In 1998, the overall number was 70%. Love for America has fallen off a cliff, at least among its own citizens, although ironically, immigrants still risk bodily harm and death to get here.
Meanwhile, according to a 2022 Gallup Poll, public trust in America’s most important institutions has plummeted to a record-low 27%.
A self-governed nation cannot stand if its citizens sit it out—or if they fail so shamefully to cherish and nourish it.
“In the end,” writes author Os Guinness, “the ultimate threat to the American republic will be Americans. The problem is not wolves at the door but termites in the floor.”
Yep. We’ve fought and won world wars, expended our blood and treasure to preserve and protect other nations, and have rallied against the worldwide terror menace. When are we going to invest ourselves in restoring our republic?
Others have occasionally made some of these points through the years, but there’s never been a trumpet call quite like YouRule!—which reminds ordinary folks they have an extraordinary responsibility as sovereign citizens to see to the health of our nation, while also showing them how to do it.
A fun, quick read, YouRule! takes you on an eye-opening inspection of our decaying civic infrastructure, and shows you the tools with which we can rebuild it. More importantly, it will get you excited about it!
Running a country isn’t as easy as it looks. While the American machine you’ve inherited is the best ever, it needs a lot of work, mostly due to thoughtless neglect. With plunging knowledge, interest and involvement in civics being the No. 1 threat to America, it’s absolutely crucial the person in charge—you—do something about it.
YouRule! is your personal handbook for getting pumped up about getting into the self-governing game, energizing your love, understanding and fervor for America—and renewing the country. Forgive me for thinking YouRule! ought to be passed out in every civics class, handed out at the border and tattooed backward on some people’s foreheads so they can read it in the mirror every morning.
Welcome to your country’s Board of Directors. We’re all counting on you.
And so are all who follow us.
Next: Come on. How often do you meet someone who managed to almost single-handedly amend the Constitution of the United States of America? (Well, I did!)
About the Author
Michael F. Ryan is executive editor of The Heartlander, as well as a longtime newspaper journalist and editorial writer, frequent speaker, and author of the international novel The Last Freedom on Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
His award-winning work has appeared in newspapers and magazines since the 1980s, as he has made a decades-long study of civic engagement and its decline.
The full YouRule! ebook is available for 99 cents at either BookBaby or Amazon.
