Deluded people will, even at gunpoint and with the corruption of the highest institutions, try to convince us that the best days are behind us and must be recaptured.  The folly of this strategy is evident in the achievement of long-denied freedoms, in the improvement of standards of living, and in the increasing opportunities for all persons to more fully participate in society.  Make America Great Again is the latest manifestation of civilization gone wild.  The slogan melts like wax before the fire of wisdom

Be it understood that while we are justly proud of our  national heritage, we do not look backwards to find our national purpose, but forward to the full realization of our national goals.

The Wise Mind… Haile Sellassie I, p.41

States, families and individuals all know that as long as life endures there is room for advancement in every field.  If the Jewish people who had their encounter with YAHWEH woke up today they would be amazed and devastated at the stories their twenty-first century Jewish descendants would tell.   By the same token no-one, not even the mullahs of Iran really want to live in the 5th century BC.  Their lifestyle choices are pretty evident.  Christians should be especially vigilant about calls to return to the past, however bright the era might seem to us from our perch on the brink of unprecedented and unimagined horizons.  Our books are ancient in age and perspective, but they contain timeless insights into infinite and ultimate significance. 

So what’s all the looking back for greatness?  Three, four, five strikes and all the civilized cultures are out, cooked, fried, burnt to a crisp.  The world does not need another George Washington, Abraham, Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus, and if today’s leaders would take one step in the same direction of these past greats, the world would see a lot more progress and less repression.