His address attacked capitalism, called the duly elected President a tyrant, praised uprisings against authority, demanded open borders and unchecked mass immigration, and urged the redistribution of money from the wealthy to the state. Through a stunning contortion of reality, Mamdani insisted that early American leaders endorsed these ideas—but nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s easy to laugh at some of the concerns about the next generation expressed across the centuries. But the sinful nature of humans is real, Satan is real, and people are all too easily drawn astray. Until arrested by the Gospel or by a cataclysm, sin grows ever worse — ever more destructive. This justifies concern. Sometimes God grants spiritual awakenings. But at other times, nations collapse.

Last week, headlines were filled with reports of socialist candidates gaining ground in major American cities. Fifty years ago, that would have been almost unimaginable. Today, however, socialism is becoming an increasingly influential force within the Democratic Party. Is this America’s future? Perhaps we can find the answer by revisiting the course set by America’s Founders. In fact, it reaches back before the founding itself. In 1630, John Winthrop described the Massachusetts Bay Colony as “a city upon a hill.” He envisioned a people who understood they lived under a covenantal responsibility before God, a vision that profoundly shaped the character of the future nation.