What is the role of government? A Republican political nation-state is based on a constitution with popular suffrage guaranteed through an electoral process. Within this broad definition lies a nation's greatest strength, protection, and weakness. The role of government must be perpetually debated so that each generation can address the most pressing questions of its time. We cannot rely on the past for exact answers but for guidance in understanding where we came from and what we believe in, so that we can best address our present and prepare for our future. Currently the present is in crisis and most Estadounidenses claim to be worried for our posterity.