Cedar Valley News – October 11, 2025

Evan Swensen
October 11, 2025

Quiet Questions
By: Teresa Nikas

“America Still Glows — But Are We Letting the Light Fade?”

When someone says, “Make America great again,” I find myself quietly wondering: Was America ever not great? And if its greatness has shifted, whose doing was it — the land, or the leaders?

In recent weeks, more voices than few have raised alarm: our confidence in leaders is eroding. A new poll found that 77 percent of Americans see no one in public office they would admire or emulate. Commentators argue that our leadership class is failing to lead, receding into silence even as the country’s challenges mount.

Here’s what I keep returning to, late on these quiet evenings:

The land remains.

Mountains still stand. Rivers still flow. The fertile soil still yields. The dream of freedom still stirs in hearts. Even if the pillars tremble, the foundation has not vanished.

Leaders don’t invent greatness — they mirror it.

No human can manufacture glory from nothing. A leader can misuse power, erode trust, stir division — but he cannot create the spirit of a people. That’s deeper and stronger than one person.

If American greatness is faltering, it may be because too many of us surrendered our responsibility to lead, to speak, to act — waiting instead for someone else to take charge.

The question worth asking: What kind of greatness will we choose now?

Will we affirm greatness as pride of domination, division, or self-serving ambition? Or will we reclaim it as justice, dignity, faithful service, and steadfast love?

Because greatness isn’t an innate trait of nations or parties — it is the art of self-restraint, of courage to soften, of generosity to raise others, of fidelity when no one is watching.

When institutions fail, can character prevail?

Our distrust of institutions — government, business, education — has grown deep. But institutions only reflect the character of the people who steward them.

What if, instead of waiting for grand reforms, we invested in daily habits of character — in our homes, our neighborhoods, our churches, our workplaces? Integrity in small things might gradually reclaim trust in big ones.

The test: will we speak when silence seems safe?

The loudest failures of leadership sometimes begin with quiet retreats. Who will speak the truth when power demands flattering lips? Who will stand when conformity demands bowing?

This week ends under a sky that holds no party lines, no slogans, no flash. Just stars. Just heartbeats. Just time, moving on.

So I invite you — not to march, not to blame, but to listen.
Let stillness ask questions you may have buried:

What parts of America’s greatness have I taken for granted?
Where have I looked to leaders instead of looking to grow myself?
Who among me needs the courage of my faith, my kindness, my voice?

We are the ones we’ve waited for. If greatness is to live on, it must pass through our imperfect hands.

This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.

It’s free, live, and fresh! Quiet Echo—A Cedar Valley News Podcast is live on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4nV8XsE, Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hdNHfX, YouTube: https://bit.ly/46Dmi3b, and Podcastle: https://bit.ly/4pYRstE. Every day, you can hear Cedar Valley’s editorials read aloud by the voices you’ve come to know—warm, steady, and rooted in the values we share. Step into the rhythm of our town, one short reflection at a time. Wherever you listen, you’ll feel right at home. Presented by the Readers and Writers Book Club: https://bit.ly/3KLTyg4