When the country is in turmoil and awash in frustration, suspicion and anger it may help to think about basic principles — to think about those ideas that have inspired generations of Americans and made America the envy of the world.

Such principles are not partisan. They have sustained us through presidents and governmental officers of all parties. They have applied across the centuries, and in both good times and bad.

They are the ideals that, despite our disagreement about other policies and programs, bind us together as a people of one nation.

For example: First, character matters. Democracy is built on trust. Trust is built on a belief in another’s honesty, reliability, patience, perseverance and weight of judgment.

The Founders created a form of government unknown before. They put their faith in the willingness, and ability, of the citizens to participate in the process of self-government. Without a king to rule over this new country, they understood citizens would have to rely on each other. And, they understood, mutual reliance requires mutual trust.

They had faith in this new form of government because they trusted the man they knew would lead it as the government took shape, and his processes became the precedents that last to this day: George Washington.

Some disagreed with Washington’s policies; nobody questioned his integrity or his character.

Second, moral values matter. We say we are a nation “under God.” Christian denominations, Jews, Muslims and spiritual gatherings of all kinds have their own conceptions of who or what God is, and what obedience to God demands.

But there is a reassuring similarity, for example, about integrity, charity, kindness, generosity, and self-sacrifice, even if it is not always uniformly practiced. As a nation we aspire to do the actions we understand are demanded by a just God.

Third, democracy is worth protecting.

Since our founding 250 years ago, the principles of our democracy — what some saw as an idealistic pipe dream — have spread throughout the world.

Democracy values human dignity. Democracy relies on the rule of law to protect citizens against those who would use dictatorial commands or brute force to subject others to their will.

Democracy’s defense requires friends and allies from around the world who share our purpose and vision, and who will stand with us against those darker forces that seek dominance and control.

Fourth, democracy requires the opportunity for citizens to speak truth to power.

Governmental power is especially dangerous when it is used to suppress dissent; or to threaten retribution against those who exercise responsible speech.

The voice of a citizen who is courageous, informed and engaged is the strength of our democracy. But when fear overtakes courage, then danger follows.

Finally, idealism matters. It is not idle sentiment that leads America to envision itself as a “city set on a hill” whose beacon of human dignity, personal freedom and shared responsibility for each other shines over the world. It is an enduring vision. We have not always achieved that vision, and progress has come in fits and starts. But the aspiration is real.

Our nation, our America, has revered those leaders who have given eloquent expression to those ideals — Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Reagan. Their strategies and policies varied, but their purpose remained resolute. Their eloquence guides us and speaks to us still. And, if it does not, then we are in peril.

These are democracy’s basic principles and essential values. They are not owned by Republicans or Democrats. They are our civic lifeblood and define what it means to be an American.

Those among us who honor and defend those principles will themselves be honored. And rightly so.

(John M. Cleland, retired McKean County Court president judge, lives in Kane.)