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” (50th Anniversary Edition), (Post Hill Press, Nov. 25, 2025).

Is America on the verge of an incredible comeback? Or is America in decline? 

You’ve, no doubt, heard (or even asked) these questions as our country prepares for its 250th birthday next year — July 4, 2026, 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 20 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 asked myself this question, too. And my answer is a resounding: No!

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The Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground as Lower Manhattan is viewed at dusk, Sept. 8, 2016, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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 many 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 today.

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We can’t wait for someone else to save America. Not politicians, as important as they are. Not business or community 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 tomorrow 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 tomorrow 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.

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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.  

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 today.

We have everything we need to move forward because we have you. Our people are still the most creative and entrepreneurial on Earth. Our economy 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.

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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 community 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.