The Modern Federalist No. 3

To the People of the State of Democracy:

It is not a new observation to “intelligent and well-informed” Americans that we must avoid actions that weaken our common purpose.

Our common purpose is the preservation of peace, liberty, and opportunity — a society where every citizen may live with dignity, speak with freedom, and work toward prosperity without fear or favor.

This reflects the collective wisdom of the American people, who have long believed that our peace and prosperity depend on remaining firmly united under one national government.

In our time, safety is not only physical but digital, not only national but civic. It means protecting our data, our institutions, and our citizens from harm — and rejecting any comfort with political violence. 

Our collective wisdom calls us to work together across states, parties, and professions to safeguard what no single region or faction can preserve alone — our economy, our security, our environment, and our democracy.

Among the many objects to which a wise and free people find it necessary to direct their attention, that of providing for their SAFETY seems to be the first.

Today, the safety of the people takes many forms. It means secure elections, protected data, and the freedom to speak without fear. It means schools and neighborhoods where people can live and learn in peace. 

It means a government that can guard against cyber threats and climate disasters alike. Safety, in its truest sense, is both digital and human — the promise that every person can live with stability, dignity, and hope.

In 1787, safety included the preservation of peace and tranquility as well as dangers from foreign arms and influence, as from dangers of the like kind arising from domestic causes. 

But in 2025, we must first consider the dangers arising from domestic causes: the erosion of trust among citizens, the spread of disinformation that divides us, and the rise of political violence that turns neighbor against neighbor.

The duties of a national government are therefore twofold: to ensure peace and tranquility from within, and to command respect and stability from afar.

Union is a sure guardian of safety: it lessens the chance of conflict among ourselves, and it strengthens bonds of trust with nations abroad. A strong and trusted government acts as the steady hand between conflict and compromise, between chaos and order.

Yet in our time, the greatest dangers no longer sail toward us from distant shores; they arise within our own institutions. 

The dangers that now arise from domestic causes are neither sudden nor obscure. They grow quietly—through the corruption of truth, the manipulation of information, and the decay of civic virtue. 

An unproductive Congress—paralyzed by partisanship—threatens the regular function of government through repeated shutdowns. 

The management of immigration, often wielded as a weapon of division, reveals not leadership but fear. Yet this nation was founded by immigrants — built, defended, and sustained by their hands, their intellect, and their hope. 

The economy, burdened by inflation and uneven opportunity, weakens confidence in the nation’s promise.

Freedoms are eroded through targeted campaigns—erasure of representation, restriction of speech, and the redefinition of equality to suit ideology. 

Our educational compact strains as universities are asked to defend one set of views instead of protecting the freedom of all expression.

Lawfare has replaced lawful discourse, and we mistake the courtroom for the forum- each spectacle financed by the American dollar, yet seldom to the American’s benefit.

Meanwhile, we ignore the rising frontier of power: Technology.

Automation, Surveillance, and Artificial Intelligence are reshaping work, privacy, and identity faster than we can regulate them. Data is harvested without consent, algorithms influence elections, and cyberattacks reach deeper than borders.

A national government worthy of its charge must not be distracted by division or dulled by delay. Its purpose—then and now—is to safeguard the peace and tranquility of the people: to defend them not only from arms abroad but from the disorders of apathy, inequity, and fear within.

The number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will always be found to be in proportion to the number and weight of the causes, whether REAL or PRETENDED, which PROVOKE or INVITE them.

The same may be said of the conflicts that now divide our own nation. 

They are too often provoked—not by the people themselves, but by those who profit from their discord. Politicians and pundits, driven by vanity or advantage, manufacture grievances, inflame divisions, and call them principles.

They make enemies of fellow citizens, and in doing so, they make a battlefield of the republic.

If it be true, as Jay reasoned, that a united America gives the fewest causes for conflict, then the same truth must hold today: unity in purpose lessens the wars we wage against within and without. 

A divided America, by contrast, multiplies them—on the floor of Congress, across our airwaves, and within our homes. 

A United America will … give the fewest [causes of war]. So shall it be that a United American people will be necessary to preserve the people in a state of peace (within ourselves) and other nations.

True leadership, then, is not measured by the noise it makes, but by the peace it preserves.

A just and temperate government, acting with moderation and fairness, will give the fewest causes for conflict both within and beyond its borders. It will deliberate before it provokes, and seek to resolve before it condemns.

The work of such leadership is neither glamorous nor immediate; it requires patience, integrity, and the courage to disappoint extremes. Yes, these are the virtues that secure a nation’s longevity. 

When an effective and trusted national government is established, the most capable minds and honorable leaders will not only consent to serve, but be sought to serve. 

When the federal government functions efficiently and fairly, it attracts the best minds to public service — leaders chosen for their ability, not their allegiance. 

In an era where technology, climate, and algorithms shape our future, national leadership must be guided by knowledge, integrity, and conscience. From such a government will come wiser policies, fairer justice, and greater safety for all.

A nation that prizes qualification over noise, and service over self, will earn the trust of its people and the respect of the world.

We cannot preach liberty abroad while tolerating violence at home, nor condemn injustice in others while excusing it in ourselves. A divided conscience is as dangerous as a divided Congress.

As a nation, we must agree on the first truths of civilization: that violence is evil, that genocide is intolerable, that war is a failure of wisdom, and that any power which endangers human life or dignity is unfit for service. The safety of the people—our highest aim—cannot coexist with the glorification of harm.

Once we agree upon these universal truths, our nation can again act with composure and confidence. A good and unified government affords vastly more security against internal conflict than any loose coalition of factions. When we are governed as one people, fewer wars—foreign or domestic—need ever be fought. 

The most qualified will rise to the top, not by favor or faction, but by merit, purpose, and service. This is the true promise of diversity, equity, and inclusion: a nation where talent, conscience, and opportunity meet without prejudice or privilege.

In such a Union, America may once more serve as a cogent institution—a model of deliberation, dignity, and fairness. For the world does not look to us merely for wealth or weaponry, but for the example of a people capable of governing themselves with justice. 

A strong and united America, temperate and candid in its conduct, will remain not only safe, but worthy of leadership in the twenty-first century.

What, then, do we teach future generations when those entrusted with power forsake the very ideals they are sworn to defend? When leadership becomes elusive, secretive, and consumed with spectacle, it ceases to serve the people and begins to perform for them. 

America’s strength has never been in its might alone, but in its moral clarity. To lose that clarity is to lose the very Union the Constitution aims to preserve.

Let us remember: strong nations negotiate; divided nations capitulate. And the surest way to preserve our dignity is to act with unity, foresight, and moral clarity, lest we too be made to bow for the sake of peace.

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365 Days of Shade