A Young and Virtuous People

Know God and know knowledge and virtue. No God and know ignorance and vice;

Steve Rossiter ——Bio and Archives--February 28, 2026

Cover Story | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us

As you can see, I lifted the title of this article from Alexander Hamilton’s comments regarding the United States Constitution. As you have also noticed, at least three and probably all the founders were concerned about the longevity of the United States and how its ultimate success was permanently attached to the virtue and values of We the People.

"Now, mark my words. So long as we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument will bind us together in mutual interests, mutual welfare, and mutual happiness. But when we become old and corrupt, it will bind no longer." ~ Alexander Hamilton

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." ~ Benjamin Franklin

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." ~ John Adams

Put in the simplest terms, the ultimate success of the representative republic known as the United States of America depends totally on the love and honesty of all citizens in their dealings with each other in accordance with the Christian values as taught in the Bible.

"We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments." ~ James Madison

"Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." ~ Samuel Adams

As I sit in Montana today, I look around and have serious doubts about the future of America and the “free world.” The vast majority of Americans are no longer attending church on a regular basis. This is problematic because the Christian church is the last bulwark for the teaching of the necessary Christian values identified by the Founding Fathers as a requirement for the long-term success of liberty-loving people.

“Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician, and I'll show you a crook.” ~ Harry S. Truman. (D-MO) 33rd President of the United States

Two thirds of the United States Congress meet Truman’s definition of crooks. Corruption by elected officials is routine business in America today. Three quarters of Congress has refused to sign on to the Congressional Term Limits Bill cosponsored by 124 members of the House and Senate. That is a good place to start looking for the crooks in Congress. As a result of corruption found by the Trump/Musk DOGE, the corruption being found in Atlanta, and the corruption found in Minnesota, added to the likely corruption rampant in every Democrat controlled jurisdiction, and corruption that may even be found in Republican jurisdictions, America is close to, if not totally in Sam Adams’ “universally corrupt” zone.

As uplifting as Trump’s State of the Union was, it doesn’t mitigate the reality of a high degree of corruption across the board within so much of American society. Those being bought and those doing the buying, both foreign and domestic, have severely corrupted our society. Can America become universally virtuous and moral again? The answer to this question remains to be seen.

"Liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals." ~ Samuel Adams

"It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail." ~ Samuel Adams

The socialists in America have done a damn fine job of reducing a large portion of the American electorate to ignorance. The failure to teach actual American history and demanding that students bow down to group think has produced some truly dumb generations. The abandonment of regular church attendance has completed Adams’ concern about vice. The evil tyrants of the anti-American, socialist Democrat Party have been working for decades to achieve the goals of dumbing down America. Will enough of the vice-ridden and ignorant Americans wise up to what has been done to them in time to save America? Only time will tell.

Know God and know knowledge and virtue. No God and know ignorance and vice.

After a 55 year career as a professional pilot in the military, in law enforcement, in the private sector, and in federal civil service, I am now retired.

In many of these positions I repeatedly took an oath to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Support Canada Free Press

Resource for criminal justice professionals, law enforcement, anyone who's had enough of high crime

Link, Bookmark, Share, Subscribe, Donate

Support Canada Free Press

Tracks in the Brass now available on Amazon

© Canada Free Press