Last week I met with advisory committees composed of farmers and Veterans from across East Alabama. Besides agriculture and specific Veterans issues, we talked about many of the kitchen table challenges we all face these days: a tough economy, a lack of good paying jobs and a concern about the direction of the Federal government.

But in those conversations, as in so many other discussions across East Alabama, I often hear a more  concerning question: are we a nation in decline?

Like nearly everyone I talk with, I too am very concerned with the direction our nation is headed. President Obama, I believe, has led America down a path of uncertainty at home and abroad. Under his Administration, big government has gotten bigger, and from my perspective, too many times our Constitution seems to be overlooked or outright ignored when it does not suit the president’s policy objectives.

Some people may disagree with that assessment. I do not claim to be unbiased when I criticize the president’s policies. Despite our current situation, I believe America’s future is bright.

Yet the here and now concerns me greatly. I see an Administration at a loss when it comes to national security policy. Adversaries are having a field day, mocking U.S. claims to “red lines.” Last year we saw an example of that when a brutal Syrian dictator simply ignored the president, and used chemical weapons on his own people.

As Americans raise concerns about our power and prestige around the world and at home, Russia is reasserting itself. Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine, a former Russian ally freed after the Soviet Union’s collapse. About that same time, the White House released a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 that seeks to cut our military to the lowest levels since before World War II. It is embarrassing and concerning all at the same time.

President Reagan so eloquently spoke of America as a shining city on a hill. He was right. I firmly believe those words are as true today as they were then. With a willingness to come together around the ideals that made this nation great, I believe that America’s best days can be ahead of us. It will take a lot of hard work to get us there and a lot of tough decisions will have to be made.