Renewing the American Spirit
Patriot Week begins on 9/11 and ends on 9/17 (the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution (Constitution Day)) and renews America’s spirit by celebrating the First Principles, Founding Fathers and other Patriots, vital documents and speeches, and flags that make America the greatest nation in world history. Many of current holidays have become overly commercialized or have lost their deeper meaning. We need to invigorate our appreciation and understanding of America’s spirit. This blog is dedicated to keeping the spirit of Patriot Week - and America - alive all year long.....
Education, Linchpin of Freedom
"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Charles Jarvis, 1820.
This sentiment expressed by Jefferson is as true today as it was at the dawn of our experiment in liberty. In light of the multitude of crises that are facing our nation, many have taken the attitude that only expert elites can save us from ourselves; and others question whether the people have the fortitude to preserve our freedoms.
If such a attitudes and doubts have validity, it is because we as a nation have done such a poor job in educating ourselves about the foundation of our freedoms. As Jefferson explained, the solution is not shut the people out, but to ensure they are well grounded in our First Principles and history. And only then can we expect that our freedoms will be sure.
For more on our educational crisis and how to combat it, see America's Survival Guide. For more about Jefferson and our First Principles, visit Patriot Week.
No comments:
Post a Comment