Leadership for America: Introduction - The Heritage Foundation

America is a remarkable nation—a strong, prosperous and good nation—unique in its dedication to the principles of liberty and constitutional self-government.

It is the hard work of freedom to perpetually renew this purpose and make it ever manifest in the politics and public life of our nation.

For more than 30 years, The Heritage Foundation has provided leadership for America, building a movement that launched a presidency, defeated a tyranny and turned the course of history.

Yet while the American people increasingly want better answers and solutions they are getting more slogans and promises.

It becomes our task, then, to build on our accomplishments, complete the unfinished work of the day and confront the expanding challenges before us.

And so we embark on a new campaign for freedom, a new effort to conserve liberty, a sustained, clear-headed program to rebuild the foundations upon which our future rests.

America must reestablish the role of its founding principles in shaping its politics, guiding policymaking and defining the grounds of self-government. America must restore the courts to their constitutional role and enforce limits on government.

So we will work to recall our nation to the first principles of liberty.

America must restore the family, strengthen marriage and reclaim the fullness of religious liberty in civic life. America must free education from the shackles of bureaucracy and mediocrity, and return control to states, localities, and parents.

So we will work to restore the primary institutions of civil society.

America must replace the culture of entitlement with one of responsibility, provide freedom of choice in health care and ensure the energy supply we need is consistent with free enterprise and stewardship. America must make taxes low, flat, simple, and fair — and unleash the tremendous creativity of our country’s entrepreneurs.

So we will work to expand economic opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.

America must protect itself from attack and annihilation, make sure its troops are the best trained and best equipped in the world, and secure its borders. America must be an influential and respected world leader, and protect its sovereignty and independence.

So we will work to ensure America’s national security and its respect as a world leader.

As it has been said before, so once again, this is a time for choosing. Are we to stand aside as our nation continues to veer off course, or are we to set it aright and ensure its future?

This is not the time for doubt and despair. It is time to renew our spirit and redouble our efforts. Now is the moment to make clear our purpose, and convince more Americans than ever of the rightness of our cause and the worth of our labors.

It will take many people, and much dedication to accomplish these goals. Nothing of this scope can be accomplished by individuals acting alone. It requires institutional leadership and institutional resources. Recognizing this need, The Heritage Foundation is undertaking a 10-year campaign that is the boldest since our founding in 1973. This is our Leadership for America Campaign.

Heritage is one of the few institutions in America equipped to undertake a project of this scope. Based on Capitol Hill, a stone’s throw from the U.S. Capitol, we have earned our reputation as the most influential think tank in Washington. Our staff of more than 200 includes leading experts from every field of public policy.

Now it is time for action, and we call on all the friends of liberty to join us in this cause. The Heritage Foundation can and will lead in this effort. But just as America’s greatness cannot be restored by individuals acting alone, neither can it be done by one institution.

Together, we must revive, so as to conserve, the liberating principles of our inheritance. We must build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish.

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