What Makes a Nation Great?

Nobody wants to be second rate. As a longtime fan of the Dallas Cowboys, I’ve learned to swallow my pride. I still wear my Cowboys hat, you know the one with star on it, but I take quite a bit of ribbing from my friends here in New Mexico. Since it is just a sports team, I do not lose sleep over their second-rate status; however, other things are more important. During the 2016 presidential campaign red “Make America Great Again” hats entered the national cultural landscape. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a nation great.

Some would argue that military might makes a nation great. As a professional soldier of over twenty-five years, that appeals to me. After all, I spent a great portion of my adult professional life doing my best to ensure our Army was the best. Yet, I hesitate to say that a strong military makes a nation great. There are other things to consider.

Some cite industrial strength or Gross-Domestic-Product (GDP) as the hallmark of a great nation. Again, there is a certain appeal to this measure. After all, our ability to make and sell things helps secure a decent standard of living…one hopes. Our nation, with its abundant natural resources and strong well educated labor pool, can make good things and make them in abundance. But GDP does not fully capture a nation’s greatness; perhaps, we should consider science.

Again, a nation’s ability to expand our understanding of our globe, how we interact with it, and how we understand the universe beyond and inside does not fully identify greatness. While scientific prowess certainly is important, legions of men and women in lab-coats do not necessarily signify a great nation. After all, there have been a variety of nations which truly expanded our understanding of the universe, but did not achieve greatness. Does cultural achievement accrue to national greatness?

For centuries, France and other European countries dominated the world cultural scene. All the good culture sprang from Europe. Rightly or wrongly, eventually the U.S. supplanted Europe. Hollywood, New York, and other locals in the U.S. developed into cultural centers for arts of all types. While excellence in the arts makes our lives richer, if everyone can enjoy or participate, I’m not convinced that cultural eminence makes a nation great. What about governmental efficiency?

Governmental efficiency is a good thing. As someone who spent a significant amount of time in government, I like governmental efficiency. It makes things work smoothly and on time. It can also save money. But does it elevate a nation to greatness? Does a devotion to finding the most efficient way to complete a task lead us to greatness in any field? After all, sometimes elevating efficiency results in individuals being crushed or consumed in the process. So, what makes a nation great?

Empathy, our ability to feel another’s pain certainly helps make a nation great. When we have the emotional maturity to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes we tend to develop practices and procedures that help instead of harm. Closely related to empathy is sympathy, the ability to feel sorrow for someone else’s misfortune. Again, when we sympathize, we work towards helping others instead of looking the other way when we see misfortunate ones. These things take courage.

Courage is another trait of great nations. We must have courage to take the risk to do great things. Courage requires that we assume risk. Courage also requires that we take the long view and willingly labor for a goal that others will enjoy. Courage demands that we fully understand and embrace our moral center, even when others decry it. A community of courageous men and women build great nations.

Great nations foster a sense of community. They build ties that reduce the feelings of otherness. Small nations, led by small people, confuse community with conformity. Community does not require sameness. A strong sense of community springs from shared values and goals, a sense of working together to bring everyone along and leave no one behind. Like shared values, great nations enjoy shared morals.

A group of shared moral values need not descend into some sort of legalistically enforceable code. A nation does not need a shared faith to share moral values. Everyone supports such universal values as honesty, integrity, compassion, hard-work, justice, respect, and trustworthiness. Of course there are others, but virtually all of us can agree with this list. Shared moral values help a nation work together, building a sense of community, and finding common ground to work together. As an extension of moral values, great nations take care of the weakest members of society.

Great nations recognize and protect the most vulnerable of their citizenry. Those existing on the margins of a society need the most protection. Those of us with wealth and power do not exist in a state of fear. This sense of well-being helps us to achieve our true and full potential. Great nations extend protections to the weak, knowing that the powerful often ignore or run over the weak in their race to accrue more wealth and power. These protections stem from an innate cultural compassion and often lead to some of the greatest advances in other areas when those marginalized find the avenues to reach their full potential.

Interestingly the traits that make a nation great are character traits. Just as with people, it is not our cash reserves, gleaming cities, powerful military, or other physical things that make a nation great. It is our ability to live into the things that make people great that elevate us to great nation status. The nature of our character as a people makes us great. When our national character embodies the traits captured in our foundational documents, The Declaration of Independence, The Preamble of the Constitution, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, Martin Luther King Jr’s I have a Dream Speech, and others, we will approach greatness as a nation, as a civilization, and as a people.