America's 250th anniversary is here. How do we secure the next chapter of the American Dream? We sat down with four leaders to discuss national renewal — from protecting human flourishing and ensuring technology serves rather than diminishes our humanity, to the peaceful transfer of power and fighting government union overreach. These visionaries share their reasons for hope and the vital role of philanthropy in preserving our founding principles.
The Mission and Vision of Milwaukee County Historical Society
Our mission is to collect, preserve, and share Milwaukee’s history. And the hope is that by doing that, we can encourage people to learn more about where they live, why it is the way it is, and maybe the direction that it could potentially go. . . It’s not just rear-looking, it’s also future-looking as well.
On American Exceptionalism
I think the number one example of American exceptionalism is the nonviolent transfer of power. We have, for nearly 250 years now, been able to essentially change governments every four or eight years relatively seamlessly. When this originally happened in the 1790s, no other country could believe what the United States was doing. They could not believe that George Washington would willingly step down as president and that a new president would step into his place without bloodshed, without any sort of political violence, take over office for four years, and then have a really contentious election in 1800 and still have that seamless transfer of power without violence.
On the challenges we face and reason for hope
I think people tend to assume that because we are the United States of America, that we will always be the United States of America and that we will be around for a thousand years. But there have been lots of empires and great nations before us that fell apart. And so, it is incumbent on us to know as much about how we got here and to understand to the best of our ability how to continue going forward without taking massive steps backs. That’s something that the historical society can play a role in.
On the role of philanthropy
Well, the real truth is that what we do is important, but what we do is not a big revenue generator. It should be, but it’s not. . . Donations from individuals, foundations, other groups are essential to our success.