I’m proof Democrats are wrong to call America irredeemable

For years, Democrats have spread the message that America is irredeemable, that our original sin defines our present and the future is dependent on our faith in government — not in each other. 

I was born in 1965, two years after Dr. King said, “I Have a Dream,” and I am living proof that American dreams do come true.

My mom spent her teenage years surrounded by segregation. My granddaddy, her father, had to step off the sidewalk to let white folks pass. He had to drop out of school in the third grade to pick cotton.

When I was a kid, I remember granddaddy would be at the breakfast table with the newspaper in his hands. Only later did I realize he’d never learned to read it, but he was determined to set an example for his grandsons.

Life handed my granddaddy every temptation to lose hope, but he wouldn’t.

He had faith, a deep and stubborn faith. Faith in God, in the future and in America, and he lived long enough to see his family go from cotton to Congress in his lifetime.

My single mom worked 16-hour days as a nurses’ aide, changing bedpans and rolling patients.

Now she holds the Bible when her son takes the oath of office in the United States Senate.

I’m where I am because my family chose faith over anger, responsibility over resentment and patriotism over pity.

My granddaddy taught me I could be bitter or better, but not both!

My momma said we could be victims or victors — she chose victorious! 

I am living proof that our founders were geniuses who should be celebrated, not canceled. That we’re a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. 

This is just my American story, and each one of us has our own. This is why my soul is pained when I look across our nation today.

We have a crisis of optimism. Barely more than 10% of Americans say the state of our union is strong. Almost three-quarters say we’re on the wrong track.

We have a crisis of hope. The fewest people in 30 years believe today’s kids will have better lives than their parents.

Life expectancy is down. Overdoses and suicides are up, and we have a crisis of faith.

In the freest, fairest land the world has ever known, the percentage of our citizens who say they’re very proud to be Americans just hit an all-time low.

So many politicians think faith in America means faith in them. Imagine what we could achieve if new leaders put faith in us.

I see a future where working- and middle-class families have a banquet of opportunity laid out before them.

I see low inflation, stable prices, cheap energy bills and affordable groceries for your family.

I see a nation full of thriving businesses, large and small, and they’re in a bidding war to recruit and hire you.

I see your paycheck growing faster than inflation, not slower, and less of it being taken by the IRS.

I see a great public school, a parochial school and a new STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) charter school in your neighborhood — all competing for the privilege of educating your children.

I see kids being taught the ABCs, not CRT (critical race theory).

I see a nation where we’re honoring our history, not tearing down statues, and the learning loss from the pandemic has been erased. 

I see your family sleeping soundly at night because violent crime is down, drugs are stopped at our borders and the might of the United States military is beyond question.

I see a future where every innocent life is protected by our laws and cherished by our culture.

I see every American free to worship as we see fit, with nobody yelling at you that your faith in God needs to stop at the door of your house of worship. Where our faith informs every part of our life.

I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground.

Where we’ve created real unity — not by compromising away our conservatism, but by winning converts! 

I see 330 million Americans getting back to celebrating our shared blessings again, tolerating our differences again and having each other’s backs again.

This is what I see. A new American sunrise, brighter than ever before.

Sen. Tim Scott is a Republican representing South Carolina.