Declaration of Renewal

 Part I

Over 160 years ago, Abraham Lincoln said “...Our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in…testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.” President Lincoln spoke these words on the battlefield of Gettysburg at one of the darkest moments in our country’s history. In 2025, 162 years later, we once again find ourselves in a time of conflict. Not on a battlefield with cannons and firearms, but nevertheless testing whether a “nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”  We find ourselves on a battlefield over our national conscience, our foundational principles and America’s moral compass.

America’s founders’ desire to build a nation that relied on the consent of the governed rejected the constraints of the past and represented a radical re-thinking of how a government and society should function. Rather than being defined by despots or kings, or divine rights, or by religious laws, the modern nation they envisioned would be shaped by the principles of the Enlightenment: the triumph of reason over superstition, freedom of thought and speech, the rule of law, equality before the law, and the separation of church and state, among others.

To be sure, from the beginning, and even until now, our country has never completely lived up to its visionary promises. After all, the institution of slavery continued for 75 years after the Constitution's ratification, followed by another nearly 100 years of Jim Crow. Women could not vote until the 1920’s. Our system of justice remains uneven in its application. Inequality persists in many realms of American life. And yet for 200 years even our shortcomings have served to inspire a continuing quest for change and progress - the never-ending search for “a more perfect union.”  The ideals espoused by these Enlightenment thinkers were liberating; they empowered the individual and celebrated human reason. They created a blueprint for a society designed to be free and open, allowing for social progress and intellectual innovation. 

These modern ideas slowly wove their way into our national conscience. The evidence for this is clear; it is seen in the procession of Constitutional Amendments and Acts of Congress approved over the last 150 years that continued to expand equal rights and protections to all people and solidified the American ideal of good, old fashioned fairness. Sometimes this progress may have been clear on paper, but slow to happen in day-to-day reality for the millions of Americans who simply wanted a “fair shot.” Building a modern nation in which everyone, regardless of their origin, has equal opportunity is an ongoing process that moves not smoothly, but with fits and starts. The bold vision and values of our Enlightenment age Founders still undergirds America. They have been the beacon that has shown us the way forward and provided our moral compass. These are also the values that have allowed our nation to become the most free and prosperous in human history. 

Since our country’s founding, of course, there have been malign forces unwilling to accept the nation’s modern values concerning equality before the law, equal opportunity, separation of church and state, and the like. These forces were present in George Washington’s time, in Lincoln’s, in FDR’s and it is no surprise that they remain present today. The difference today is that these anti-modern forces have ascended to the highest stations of power throughout the land: the presidency, both Houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. Make no mistake, the leaders of this movement wish to take America backwards. To strip women of their rights, to reduce or remove voting access for minority voters, to reverse scientific progress, to end funding of public schools, to shower benefits on the richest among us, while harming the poorest and to permit payola and corruption at all levels of government. And this is a short list. President Donald Trump and several of his top advisors even state publicly that “America was at its height, its richest, its greatest from 1870 to 1913.” Richest and greatest for whom? This was a time of grotesque income inequality, a recession in every decade and two of the longest depressions in U.S. history. Women had almost no rights, and African Americans lived in constant terror (thousands upon thousands of lynchings in those decades). And it’s no accident that 1913 is the chosen year for the end of “America’s greatest era.” The income tax Amendment to the U.S. constitution was ratified in 1913. The goal of this president, his advisors and obedient followers is clear: turn our country into a pre-modern, authoritarian nation ruled by white, Christian men. Looking backward is not the answer.

The goal of this Declaration is to help reset America’s moral compass, so to ensure our nation’s future as a democracy of, by and for the people. We assert that one’s worth is not tied to social status, or inherited titles, or skin color; it resides in a most basic reality that all human beings are equal. It follows from this fact, that all people are accorded the same rights and protections. In an age when the divide between those with means and those without grows larger, we must treat those among us who have the least with the same respect as those who have the most. History will judge us by how we treat those in need, not how we fawn over those with wealth.

There is no short-term fix. This will not be repaired by a “good outcome” of a couple elections. Restoring tolerance and compassion is a generational project. We welcome the responsibility of striving toward that ever elusive “more perfect union” that our nation’s founders still challenge us to pursue. Abraham Lincoln’s concluding words at Gettysburg seven generations ago remain so relevant today : “That this nation…shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Part II

In 1776 the founders of this country declared that men had certain unalienable rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In the intervening 250 years we have learned that there are further truths that are self-evident. In 2025 we declare that these unalienable rights must apply to ALL Americans, not only to the very few, to whom the Founders referred. To secure these and other rights and ensure they are applied justly and fairly, we affirm the following:

-  All human beings are of equal worth and thus deserve equal treatment and protections before the law and in the civic sphere.

-  Individuals own their own bodies, have rights to their separateness and to bodily inviolability, AND recognize the same needs and sympathies in their fellow citizens. Whom one chooses to love is none of the governments’ business.

-  Freedom of speech is essential for a democracy to thrive.

-  Freedom of religion and a government free from religion are essential for a democracy to thrive.

-  Freedom of the press is essential for a democracy to thrive.

-  Freedom to assemble is essential for a democracy to thrive.

-  The four freedoms above are foundational American rights, guaranteed in our 1st Amendment and are the very essence of a free people. The erosion or even the suspension of these rights must end; and they must all be fully restored to their proper place in our shared national conscience.

-  In the United States, the right to vote is sacred. It took nearly two hundred years to secure this privilege for all Americans and too many gave their lives to secure this right. Successful efforts over the last two decades to restrict voting rights or to dilute “one man, one vote” are not only an affront to the American spirit, but an insult to our countrymen who died fighting to defend these rights. Laws and court decisions that have served in any way to limit voting rights must be rescinded.

-  The checks and balances built into the structure of our government are fundamental to the operation of our democracy. The checks and balances cannot function if elected officials refuse to live up to their sworn constitutional oaths and become willing collaborators in our government’s failure. In the United States, the president is not a monarch, and the Congress and the courts are not his vassals. The War of Independence was fought over this very thing.

-  In the United States, the concept of universal access to public education began nearly 200 years ago and swept across the nation in the last half of the 19th century. Access to standardized, secular, universal public education is a right granted to all American children. And it must be paid for by a fair system of taxation, so that it does not place an undue burden on families of less means who often benefit the most from public education. We should all see that the right to public education rewards all Americans by creating an educated and productive citizenry that is critical to a functioning democracy. Americans who choose to pursue a private education will receive the same standardized civics education that will teach how American representative democracy functions: the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers, the duties and powers of Congress, the President and the Supreme Court and the like.

-  A healthy democracy relies on responsible citizens who embrace civility and respectful discourse. When elected representatives and government officials across America forget or even dismiss the rule of law, should the citizenry be expected to uphold it? When governments work in the shadows contriving to pass laws only to reinforce their own power, citizens lose faith in their governments and lose faith in each other. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution laid the foundation for a stable society governed by the rule of law. It’s time for private citizens and government officials alike to rediscover the rule of law that has served our nation so well. We should all take seriously what our Founders steadfastly believed, “Where the law ends, tyranny begins.”

-  Science, reason, and critical thinking, all profoundly important to the Founders, are STILL necessary for building upon new opportunities and solving the problems we face. It is these values that unleashed the innovation and creativity that helped our country become that “Shining City on the Hill” President Reagan so proudly called America. Scientists, inventors, creators and educators must be able to do their work without fear or interference. Therefore, unencumbered freedom of inquiry, highly valued by the American people and given nourishment and support by the people’s government, must be restored.

-  Americans have a responsibility to help repair and protect a healthy planet, not only for those here today, but for those generations to come. When appropriate policies to protect this future are adopted, the resulting economic and employment changes can not be ignored. The likely serious economic transitions for millions of Americans deserve much more than mere lip service. Significant resources, both public and private, should be set aside to aid these transitions.

-  Capitalism as it has developed in our country has not delivered material abundance, or social harmony, or security to the majority of our people. Social safety nets have been intentionally diminished. The depth of America’s economic inequality has become immoral. And this is by no means a “radical” statement. Adam Smith, considered the father of free market capitalism, believed great disparities in wealth and an unjust system of taxation were unhealthy, even dangerous to the stability of a society. Therefore, a truly fair system of taxation will have to be accepted. The wealthy, large business interests and corporations who already disproportionately benefit from government policies, must pay their fair share. A country with a conscience understands the benefits of treating all of its citizens with dignity.

We, the writers of this statement, love our country for its titanic achievements, and yes, for its “purple mountain majesties.” But there is a deeper love: not a love for things, but for the Promise of America; a country struggling to direct the needle of our moral compass towards fairness, freedom and equality. That is a promise worth defending; worth fighting for.

If we appear to be seeking the unattainable, we do so with the same commitment and spirit of the many thousands of Americans who have come before us. There is nothing artificial or trivial in the greatness America represents. We may take for granted the near astounding progress we have made as a nation. But it must be recognized that it could be transient. The future is NOT yet written and history has shown that it is not controlled by a powerful few. But we the people must stop being spectators in our own democracy because democracy will not survive by itself. 

In today’s world, a vision of “what ought to be” has been devalued. Too many believe that to be hopeful is to be delusional, that to have no aspirations is showing tough mindedness or even manliness. Nonsense. We ask, what is America if not a place always looking for “what ought to be”? This document is a call to those Americans who are not satisfied with the “what is”, and wish to join in the pursuit of what our Founders obliged of us: To seek what ought to be.

Part III

We are dedicated to this work because we believe that all human beings are of equal worth and because of our commitment to the dignity of every American. Are we chasing some romantic fantasy of democracy for the sake of its being a magnificently perfect idea? No. We believe in representative democracy, in a free and open society not because they are even nearly perfect, but because history has shown that they are the structures of society and government that best restrain man’s uglier instincts while protecting human dignity. And most important, they have proven to deliver the highest quality of life for the most people. 

We, the signers of this document, have resetting America's moral compass as our objective and this starts with the adoption of the stated “unalienable rights”. If this is the goal, we must accept that finding success will be a massive undertaking. This Declaration, i.e., a statement of purpose, is necessary, but it is merely the beginning. The generations long work to achieve this objective is the real work.

But before the writing of white papers and policy recommendations, comes the work of re-setting America’s moral compass and re-kindling our sense of civic virtue. And how else to accomplish these except through education. This effort must start small, at the grassroots level. Tasks such as (but not limited to):

• Finding journals and news outlets to publish the ‘Declaration of Renewal’, because we know that millions of citizens are looking for a path toward a more harmonious America. If publishing the Declaration brings even just a trickle of allies, it’s valuable.

• Building coalitions with like minded organizations (civic, faith based and more).

• Presenting the Declaration at community level meetings, no matter how small.

• A podcast at which leaders, working people, scientists, business owners, etc will discuss what has been happening in their fields.

As the above gets underway, and this effort gathers strength, panels will be created to develop 30 year plans for public education, the economy, science, protecting the separation of church and state, the legal system, and others no doubt. 30 year plans sound daunting indeed, but remember the movement which brought our country to this moment was five decades in the making (some would say much longer). Policy recommendations will come, but first a renewed and shared sense of compassion and conscience must undergird policy making.

There is, at this moment, a particular urgency to lifting up America’s instincts of compassion and fairness: the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We have learned from the industrial revolution and more recently from globalization in our own country, that great leaps forward in technology and industry can improve much about life in America. But these great leaps also created some winners and many losers. Too many honest, hard working American citizens were left behind. We who have signed this document are indeed champions of advancement in science and technology. We believe in the potential these advancements may bring.  But let us also learn from past mistakes: the rich and powerful getting to choose who wins and who loses is immoral. Everyone in America has a stake in how this plays out. So it is imperative and urgent that we find our moral center as a people. And we can succeed in doing this.

When stating that human beings “have certain unalienable rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” our nation’s founders set the bar awfully high. That was a radical statement 250 years ago. If we are honest, it still is. And in truth our founders were none too optimistic about their new country’s constitutional democracy chances to survive. The private letters of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison reveal they were filled with doubts. What they each most feared was a demagogue ascending to the presidency by appealing to citizens' worst instincts and behaviors. As well as this demagogue using his position and the nation’s treasury to enrich himself and his loyalists. The founders would not be so much surprised by America’s current government as surprised that it took so long to happen. Yet they ultimately did have faith in the constitution they all had a hand in writing. But perhaps more important, these great men also expressed faith that succeeding generations of Americans could make adjustments and fix the country’s imperfections. Many of those succeeding generations did just that. And now we find, it is our turn.

Robert Barr, Michael Goldman and Mark Manley

Cincinnati, July 22nd, 2025