if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great

French philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville put it this way:

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers─and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce─and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution─and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.