I suppose we are seldom told it these days. But it is in the words of the national anthem – “Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” It’s also in the Gettysburg Address – “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

100% agree with your definition and assessment. I’ll add that those men & women were not just found in politics and government. They were also found throughout our communities – and in our homes.

Growing-up I had adults on a pretty high pedestal: They were fair, reasonable, logical, etc. Once I graduated uni and started my career, I realized that I had a lot of good role models and that does not apply to all adults.

But at one time that did apply to many adults. And a common theme seemed to be they had experienced real hardship and/ or danger. (e.g., The Great Depression, War).

I wish we could go back to counting on the adults-in-the-room to provide stability & leadership – and my assessment of the current situation is in line with Victor Davis Hanson.

“Constitutional systems easily perish because they ask a lot of their citizens — to vote, to be informed about civic and political issues and to hold elected officials accountable. That responsibility is perhaps why, of the world’s true republics and democracies, only about 22 have been in existence for a half-century or more. We are seldom told, then, that America is a rare, precious and perhaps even fragile idea, both in the past and in the present.”

https://victorhanson.com/victor-davis-hanson-america-and-the-dying-citizen/

100% agree. To me that is why Steyn’ observation is so important – “…the life we’ve led since 1945 in the Western World is very rare in human history.” – and that my assessment of the current situation is in line with Victor Davis Hanson.

“America’s bounty was predicated on each generation following the prompt of the prior, modulating when change was necessary, but not daring to tamper with the foundational principles and values that explained our singular wealth, power, and leisure. ”

https://amgreatness.com/2022/06/26/america-is-more-fragile-than-the-left-understands/

I’ll add that as lifelong resident of CA, VDH is living and writing about our future. Yet most cannot fathom that that is our future – that CA has been conquered – or that the entire foundation did not need to rot in order for CA to be conquered.

Thank you for the link, good read, and 100% agree that there is an evergreen quality to many of the observations noted by Martineau:
• “…the error of concluding that letters are wisdom, and that scholarship is education.”,
• “…the primary social duty of educated men was to enlighten public sentiment as to what truth is, and what law ought, therefore, to be.”,
• “There are a thousand mechanics shops, a thousand log houses where certain members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the orator of the day for one, might learn new and useful lessons on morals and politics,—on the first principles of human relations.”).

Along with the age old “wisdom” of youth.

When was the last time you saw a MSM article on the federal deficit or national debt?

Any stories about inflation recently?

Given that we (the country through the MSM) don’t even talk about the fiscal health of the country, it doesn’t inspire confidence that any Republican candidate can break through the gravy train and win in 2024.

Short of an economic catastrophe. In which case President Trump would have a credible chance. Even that isn’t a lock, as the recent bank collapses due to mismanagement have just been swept under the rug by promises of federal intervention. It seems there is no limit to the amount of money the federal government can borrow or print.
This may be the hardest obstacle for any Republican candidate that still has a shred of fiscal conservatism left. It’s been almost completely drained, like blood letting of old, from a majority of Republican politicians veins.

Spend a few minutes perusing this document.

The federal deficit, annualized, was $1.7 trillion in Q1 2023, up over $1 trillion from Q1 2022.

Interest payments were $929 billion, up from $603 billion the previous year.

Table 3.2. Federal Government Current Receipts and Expenditures:
Quarterly

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=53&eid=5272#snid=5308

Conrad Black thinks Trump can win in spite of the Lawfare. DeSantis does not seem to be setting the campaign on fire. We’ll see.

If by the “adults in the room” or the “grownups” we mean the talents FDR and Truman assembled to win the war and rebuild the world afterwards, it’s clear that there aren’t many “adults” around in politics or government now. Those “grownups” were hard-headed generals, admirals, businessmen, bankers, and corporate lawyers. They weren’t partisans or ideologues. They were focused on achieving practical tasks. They figured out ways to get around the entrenched bureaucracies. Some strategic thinking was provided by experts, but they let the practical men do the actual work. Propagandists and ideologues were needed to win the war, but the “adults” didn’t let them get in the way of practical work. Nowadays, everybody is political, everyone is a partisan, and the ideologues are running things. Trump had many problems with personnel, but his attempts to bring hardheaded military men and businessmen back into the Cabinet were a good idea.

File under: What’s good for [Hillary? Biden? Obama? Comey? Brennan? etc…] is good for the country…

**E.g., a “cute” example….
“Federal prosecutor in Trump probe reprimanded in earlier case for secretly recording defense lawyer;
“The prosecutor has been identified as Karen Gilbert, who has been identified as a U.S. Attorney’s Office’s lawyer in the 2009 case.”—
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/prosecutor-trump-indictment-was-once-reprimanded-secretly