In Matt. 16:2-3, Jesus quotes an old sea-faring proverb in relation to identifying the signs of the times, "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
The year 2026 has just dawned, marking the 250th anniversary of our nation, and the sky looks red as America takes decisive action against countries within its own hemisphere.
For many Americans, these developments are so jarring that it feels like we've entered a new phase of national existence.
Gone are the days of America being one among the nations. We now seek dominance over the nations. We are following the footsteps of imperial Rome.
On July 4, 1821, John Quincy Adams gave a speech that defined American foreign policy for generations. America, he declared, "goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.
She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."
Adams warned that if America fought under foreign banners—even for foreign independence—she would become hopelessly entangled in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of greed, envy, and ambition that masquerade as freedom.
His warning was prophetic: America’s fundamental principles “would insensibly change from liberty to force.”
The glow of “Freedom and Independence” on her brow would be replaced by an imperial crown, shining with the false luster of domination and power. She might become the world's dictator but would no longer be master of her own spirit.
Adams understood Rome's vision: to impose peace, show mercy to the conquered, and subdue the proud. He writes this was fundamentally at odds with America's founding purpose.
America’s role was not to reshape the world through force, but to be an exemplary beacon of what others could become — though they would need to seize it for themselves.
For nearly a century, this wisdom held. George Washington's Farewell Address warned against permanent foreign alliances and urged armed neutrality. America expanded westward, and resisted foreign entanglements.
Presidents from Jefferson to Cleveland upheld neutrality, reciprocity, and peace.
The Monroe Doctrine itself was conceived not as a license for intervention in Latin America, but as a defensive measure against European encroachment.
As President Harrison put it in 1889: "We Americans have no commission from God to police the world."
The shift began after World War II. To counter the Soviet threat, America built a global order. Nations prospered by joining our alliance. In exchange for secure waterways and guaranteeing free trade, we wrote their security policies. A globalized economy was born.
But here's what's crucial: even as our empire grew, we exercised restraint. We did not follow Rome's path—invading countries, seizing resources, colonizing territories. Our imperialism was softer, expressed through influence and trade rather than conquest.
The Cold War had disciplined America’s ambitions. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the world order America built was no longer necessary. But its collapse left us unrestrained. America stood alone at the height of power — without experience, without precedent, and without constraints.
That unchecked power proved poisonous. Three administrations escalated America's global ambitions — from cautious multilateralism to casual dominance to aggressive intervention.
The paradox was clear: the absence of resistance abroad made it harder to resist calls for America to wield universal police power. Human rights agendas, once propaganda, became obligations.
Now, in 2026, we've crossed a threshold. It's no longer just about economic influence or military presence abroad. We've invaded Venezuela for its oil, and we’re talking openly about invading Cuba and Mexico, and seizing Greenland.
At least the Trump administration has been honest about this: it's about resources and territorial expansion, not about human rights or “democracy.” As Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller put it, we live in "a world that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power."
Rome’s motto to her sons was, “You, O Roman, govern the nations with your power.” But that is not America's message to her children… at least it wasn’t.
Has Adams's warning come to pass? Have our fundamental principles shifted from liberty to force? Seems so. We have a nice crown, but it’s acquired at the expense of becoming a slave to another spirit.
America kicked off its 250th birthday by embracing imperial expansionism. We would do well to remember that following in Rome’s footsteps and crusading abroad undermines what made America great at home in the first place. Rome's glory was domination. America's glory is in liberty.
The motto on our shield once read: Freedom, Independence, Peace.
What does it read now?
