Two hundred twenty-seven years ago a group of 45 men gathered in Philadelphia to write a new constitution for a new country. They did more than write a new constitution. They participated in what has proved to be one of the turning points in human history. They created a revolution, not just on the soil of North America but in the world of ideas. They took the best of the principles of ancient Greek democracy, combined them with the best of the European philosophers in the Age of Reason, and created a system of government which has become the most admired and emulated in the world.

Their ideals have become the world’s ideals: the sovereignty of the people, the primacy of individual liberty, the equality of every citizen before the law – they now are so widely accepted that we don’t appreciate how radical they were at the time. Yet they have endured, and prevailed.

American ideals, values and culture are now ascendant in the world. Yet Americans aren’t happy about it, and neither is anyone else. Not in any of our lifetimes has the United States been held in such low regard around the world. Public opinion polls report a remarkable degree of hostility toward the United States, not just from our past enemies, but also among our closest friends and allies.

There have been dominant military and economic powers throughout history. Ours is the most dominant in military strength and until recently possessed moral authority which previous dominant powers did not have.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet with leaders in almost every country in Europe. I asked each of them this question: Now that the Soviet Union no longer exists and Russia has withdrawn its military forces back to its national territory, do you believe the United States should withdraw its military forces back to its national territory? Every one of them answered, immediately and emphatically, no. Most Europeans want American military forces on their soil.

Why is that? And how can it be reconciled with the hostility I just described?

To me, the answer is that to many people, outside and inside our country, American influence in the world is perceived to be based primarily, or exclusively on power – economic and especially military power. I think there’s more to it.

Power is important and we must be prepared to use military force, when necessary and appropriate. But the use of power should always be in service of our basic ideals – individual liberty, equal justice under the law, opportunity for all.

I ask you, and all Americans, to never forget that the United States was a great nation long before it was a great military or economic power. This was a great nation from the time of its founding; it was ennobled by the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The Constitution is one of the great political and literary achievements of all time. The first ten amendments to that constitution, the Bill of Rights, are the most concise and eloquent statement of individual liberty ever written and adopted by human beings.

What I ask of you, and what we should ask of other Americans, is to keep in mind that the fundamental strength of the United States lies in its ideals. Our ideals attract others to America. Our ideals give us moral authority around the world. Our ideals will sustain us through the difficult period ahead.

I do not denigrate or minimize the importance of power. We need a strong economy to defend freedom and security. We need the strongest military force and we must be willing to use it when necessary and appropriate. But we must never lose sight of the reality that what we are, and what we can do, is based on the ideals that those 45 men wrote down 227 years ago. That is the basis of American influence, strength and prosperity.

This commentary is excerpted from a speech former Sen. George Mitchell presented last month at the 10th anniversary of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.