Unalienable Responsibilities

I grew up in small town America, in a place dominated by the coal mining industry.  I attended public school – the most likely choice in my community, particularly with both of my parents working as public school teachers.  I took my studies seriously and had the grades to prove it.  I was an Eagle Scout, earned the highest ACT score in my class, and passed every AP exam I took.  By the time I graduated from high school, I had completed over a year of college credit.  I was confident that I had received an excellent education.  I went on to graduate from a top private university and began my career.  As time passed, and I looked back on the knowledge that I had gained, I recognized some serious gaps, especially with regard to our national history and my duties as a citizen.  I was surprised to find that I had been cheated in my education about our nation.

In high school, when it came to US history and government, I only learned what was outlined in the mandated state education curriculum.  I’m not sure if it was the teachers, or those who created the curriculum, but somewhere along the classroom assembly line everything passionate or inspiring was omitted.   Anything that might have created a deep affection for our country and heritage, and a sense of individual duty in American government, was missing.  Of course the basics were meted out:  why the pilgrims came to America, a basic coverage of our founding fathers, the revolutionary war, a mention of the articles of confederation, a quick bit of honor for the Declaration of Independence, and even a little about the actual Constitution.  However, the forced memorization of dates and the impersonal, test-based regurgitation of a few disconnected facts completely removed these topics from my interest.

Later, as an adult, I recognized that there were real political problems in the world, and that a lot of people spent a great deal of time fighting about them.  Yet, I remained mostly removed from those discussions, and focused on supporting my young family.  It frustrated me to see political figures on the news arguing back and forth, seemingly more interested in a snappy sound bite than in actually solving any problems.  In the end, it was easier to turn off the TV than to try to make sense of the squabbling and understand my part in the process.

I admit to this shameful past for these reasons:  first, as a youth I failed to learn my duties as a citizen of this great nation, and second, as a young adult, I failed to exercise those duties.  And I am not alone.  This is not just my story, but the story of thousands – maybe millions – of honest, hardworking American men and women.  We had a cursory view of civics, at least good enough to get the grade we hoped for in our studies, and as a result were largely uninspired to take any action in the political and governmental arena.  I did not realize it, as many Americans like me may not, but we were contributing to the decay of our own freedoms.

This disconnection from government is in direct contract to what the founders, the Constitution, and true freedom require of us.  Government “by the people” means that the people, including you and me, MUST be involved in that government.  If we are not then the government is not “by the people”.  It becomes instead, “government by the career politician” or “government by the wealthy who can afford to influence elections”, slipping eventually into, “government by the power hungry”, or “government by the dishonest”.  When we allow this to happen we are regressing back to what the framers of the Constitution desperately wanted to prevent:  government of the many by the few – a ruling class, an aristocracy.

We affirm in our national charter that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.  And frequently the conversation ends there.  Yet, where much is given, much is required and we are also endowed with certain unalienable responsibilities, among these are:  understanding our government, involvement in the political process, and the defense of the principles of freedom.  These are the duties of every American citizen, not just the politician.  Undoubtedly, this was what weighed so heavily on the mind of Benjamin Franklin when he said that he and the other founding fathers had given us “a republic, if [we could] keep it”¹.  Failure to fulfill our unalienable responsibilities would cause us to lose access to our unalienable rights.  And, at least in some measure, we would deserve it.  By choosing not to know and not to act we would have allowed our freedoms to decay.

Unfortunately, many Americans, including myself, have spent so much time unconscious to these realities.  It is time to wake up and begin a new revolution for our freedom.  Not in a battle of bayonets and muskets, as the heroes of our revolutionary founding did, but with minds and hearts; not with sacrifice of life and limb, as our predecessors, but with sacrifice of time and attention.  I now recognize the need to put down my mobile devices, turn off my television, and other excessive and distracting forms of entertainment.  With a wealth of newly recovered time, I can dedicate myself to a study of our government and our constitution and into real world action that will have a hand in determining our future.  Without deliberate action of this nature, we will be doomed to ride the tides of government created by others for us; others who do not have our – or our children’s – or our grandchildren's – interests in view.

For me, these realizations made me feel like a soldier recovering consciousness in the middle of an intense battlefield, trying to shake off the haze of unconsciousness that had – until now – clouded my senses; recognizing that I am in the middle of a heated battle for the future of my country – and by extension my home and family – we all are, whether we are conscious of it or not.  That sudden clarity can lead to a sense of panic as a desire to “do something” swells in our chests.  “But what can I do and how?” we may wonder.  Our past schooling may not have adequately prepared us for this battle.  We may not wish to run for office.  This frustration has sometimes caused men to become desperate and gravitate toward radical organizations – either on the far left or the far right.  That decision inevitably leads to drastic actions that often cause pain and may even cost lives.  While there have been times in history when an extreme change in called for, this war cannot be won that way.  So, what then lies within our power?  What can we do?

 

This is precisely the reason that I have begun this journey – one in which I hope you will accompany me.  I want to know better for myself, and anyone else who is interested, the best and most effective ways to have a positive impact.  I lack political training.  I am not exceptionally wealthy.  I do not aspire to political office.  But I have discovered how much I love America and all for which she was meant to stand.  I increasingly revere the sacrifices of our founding fathers who pledged all they had to build our nation.  I love our freedoms and I want my children and future generations to enjoy and love those same freedoms.  I find myself with relatively little bandwidth for extra endeavors, but I still long to make a difference for good.

I intend to share my experiences in learning about realistic, practical, and effective ways in which to become involved in our government, help prevent the losses of our precious freedoms, and assist in restoring those freedoms which have already been lost. 

If our country is to become, once again, the truly greatest nation on Earth then I believe that change will never happen from the top down.  The “top”, for all of its power brokering, lacks the power to make this change.  It must be a grass roots change that starts in the hearts and homes of every American.  It must begin with you and me where we are now, learning what we can do next…

1.  The American Historical Review, vol. 11, 1906, p. 618