The American Dream isn’t dead, but each one of us needs to help it to thrive

Editor's note The following op-ed is adapted from author Doug DeVos's new book Believe A Timeless Endorsement of American Principles th Anniversary Edition Post Hill Press Nov Is America on the verge of an incredible comeback Or is America in decline You ve no doubt heard or even solicited these questions as our country prepares for its th birthday next year July the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence It feels like everyone is asking these questions For the first time in recorded history fewer than half of Americans think our best days are ahead of us More people think that our best days are in the rearview mirror Four out of five Americans now believe their children s lives will be worse than theirs That number has doubled in just years And when it comes to the long run more Americans worry that someone born in the future will be worse off than someone born in the past But is it true Is America really in decline I ve appealed myself this question too And my answer is a resounding No JONATHAN TURLEY ELITES CALL THE CONSTITUTION 'BROKEN' BUT AMERICANS KNOW IT'S OUR GREATEST GIFT I don t think we re declining I think we re drifting There s a big difference We don t feel anchored to the core ideas that created the American experiment and the American Dream We re getting taken by the current and blown by the wind But while that s not the same thing as decline it s a dangerous thing nonetheless America was never meant to drift America is supposed to courageously move forward lifting up our people and leading our world Let me be clear America remains the strongest country on Earth by so several measures But we re not moving to where we need to go and what we need to be The good news is that we can get the country back on track We just need to remember who we are and what we stand for and then we need to build a future on the time-tested principles that made us great in the first place What are those principles Belief in people Free enterprise The family Accountability and human dignity Every generation of Americans has applied these principles to overcome challenges and move past division And that s what we need to do in the modern day AT LANCASTER REGION I WITNESSED AN AMERICA THAT STILL WORKS NO POLITICS REQUIRED We can t wait for someone else to save America Not politicians as critical as they are Not business or locality leaders either The real leaders in this country are you and me and all our fellow citizens And while that may seem daunting it s empowering too The future depends on you That future will be a self-fulfilling prophecy If you believe that the upcoming day is going to be worse you ll act accordingly You ll strive less and try less You ll try to get more than you give because after all things are bad so who cares But if you believe that the subsequent day will be better you ll act very differently Instead of sitting back you ll step up Instead of accepting the problems around us you ll ask how you can solve them You ll never settle for the status quo because you know you can chart a path forward CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION The stakes couldn t be higher And if you don t act make no mistake America s drift may become a decline But if you do act if you apply the time-tested principles that define the best of our history then America will find its direction again We have everything we need to move forward because we have you Our people are still the largest part creative and entrepreneurial on Earth Our market is still the envy of the world Hundreds of millions of people want to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave And our country s story is one of incredible progress driven by everyday people taking everyday action This is how we ve tackled every challenge we ve faced We ve overcome evils like slavery enacted civil rights and women s rights and given more and more people a real opportunity to live their best lives We ve worked to make our union a bit more perfect with every generation We re not there yet and we still have a lot of work to do together Yet in our hearts we all know it can be done and you re essential to making it happen You have a chance to transform your future your group and our nation to give a new lease on life to the American Dream You have a chance to find extraordinary success and then reach out to help others succeed too And above all else you have a chance to prove to yourself and to others that America s days of drifting are over If you stand by the principles that built and sustained this country America s future is bright indeed