Sophia Nelson on 'Redefining Freedom' and living up to America's founding principles

Geoff Bennett:

Two-and-a-half centuries ago, America's founders forged the nation through fierce debate and compromise. Now, as the country approaches its 250th birthday, many Americans are again questioning whether the nation still lives up to its founding ideals and whether its citizens are upholding theirs.

As Ali Rogin explains, a new book argues the answer may depend on how we define freedom.

Ali Rogin:

When asked what sort of government the United States had, Benjamin Franklin famously said "a republic, if you can keep it."

Like many Americans, "Forbes" columnist Sophia Nelson has been wondering, how well have we kept it? As the founder of the Redefining Freedom Center of Virginia, Nelson seeks to answer that question and provide recommendations for how we can all help adapt America's founding principles to a new century.

Her new book is called "Redefining Freedom: Thoughts on Bridging Divides and Renewing the American Promise at 250."

And Sophia Nelson joins me now.

Welcome back to the "News Hour."

Sophia A. Nelson:

Thank you for having me.

Ali Rogin:

Thank you so much for being here.

Why do we need to redefine freedom?

Sophia A. Nelson:

Well, I think that the natural instinct at a 250-year celebration is to commemorate, to have a big party, for everybody to be jovial and think about all the things we do well. We should do that.

However, we're in a unique moment. We have a divided country in a way that I have not seen in my lifetime. Governing ourselves in the 21st century with an 18th century document is a little tricky. And I don't want to throw it away. I want to refresh it. I want to do what Jefferson said. I want to refresh the tree of liberty from time to time.

And I think that's what I'm talking about.

Ali Rogin:

You break it down into four pillars. And they are personal freedom, shared freedom, lived freedom and protected freedom. Why is it important to name those and define them?

Sophia A. Nelson:

Well, I think freedom is the best word in the American vocabulary. We all love it. It's a great word, right? But we got to define it, because I think my freedom and your freedom could be very different notions of what that is.

And so when I say shared freedom, my favorite of all, that means that Sophia's freedom should not impinge on yours or mine shouldn't be greater than yours. We live in a community. We have a civic heart and government that is supposed to be of, by, and for the people.

And that means that we actually look out for each other. And so when I get into personal freedom, that's the individual right you have to go where you want, marry who you want, think what you want, worship how you want. versus other people may have a very different way of expressing themselves.

And in this country, the tension is, we tolerate that and we celebrate it, or at least we used to. I name these freedoms because I'm saying let's put a stake in this and get back to our founding purpose. Right now, we're seeing some things that are just things I have never seen in my lifetime before, and I'm concerned. That's why I wrote the book.

Ali Rogin:

You diagnose civic apathy as the greatest threat to democracy.

Of course, we have seen a lot of people around the country in recent months get involved for the first time, attending things like the No Kings rallies, which you write about witnessing in your book. But many of them have said that the reason they're there is because they have reached some personal point of no return.

But is that what it takes these days to achieve civic engagement?

Sophia A. Nelson:

I was alive for the bicentennial. I hate to admit it. I was in second grade, but I remember with the flag behind us with the Spirit of 1776 and we had to dress a certain way.

That was civic formation, right, that your flag matters, your country matters, the mundane, going to the school board, showing up at the PTA, doing these things where you have your input and how your kids are being schooled, what your roads look like, the things that nobody seems to care about.

Data centers, right? Showing up and having your voice heard, we don't want these things in our community. That's what the founders had in mind when they wanted us to be a government of, by and for the people. They expected us to vote. They expected us to show up. And when politicians are not virtuous and not ethical, you have a way to remove them and hold them accountable.

We don't do it anymore. We have all just said, oh, well, this is just what it is, and, well, it doesn't have anything to do with me. That's bad. That's not good.

Ali Rogin:

What's your hope for the next 250 years?

Sophia A. Nelson:

Wow.

Well, I dedicate the book to the next generation, millennials and younger, because I hope long after we're no longer here that this country is still here and that it's still the same country you and I love today.

I thought King Charles did a wonderful job with his speech to Congress. Boy, a king came and lectured America, politely, but he schooled us, if you will, on, don't you know you don't have a king anymore, and that there is a check on the executive, and that the world community looks up to you, and that NATO matters, and you have got to pledge your support to Ukraine and helping other nations?

That's who you are. I thought he reminded Congress very well of who America is to the rest of the world and who we should be.

Ali Rogin:

The book is "Redefining Freedom."

Sophia Nelson, thank you so much.

Sophia A. Nelson:

Thank you for having me.