The cracks in the foundations of the American House of Freedom, in other words, can lead to tyranny. What Columbine reminded us, in the most graphic and unmistakable way, is that there are no guarantees that the American House of Freedom will remain that. Democracy is not a given, nor is it written that the next generation of Americans will automatically enjoy the liberties of its parents. Lincoln noted at Gettysburg that it was an open question whether a nation so conceived and so dedicated could long endure. But that's a question for every generation to answer for itself.
Democracy is an ongoing moral experiment in a people's capacity to govern themselves.
When the Founders staked their lives, their fortunes, and sacred honor on the American Democratic experiment, they didn't think that free government was inevitable, only that it was possible. And the Founders believed that its possibility depended on a certain kind of people. A people who knew that freedom rightly understood is not a matter of doing whatever we like, but a matter of doing what we ought. Freedom and virtue were inseparable in their minds and that meant that the House of Freedom was rested on the foundation of a life affirming culture. As we stand on the threshold of a new century and a new millennium, we have just completed a decade of unparalleled peace and prosperity.