Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysbuerg Address talked about a democracy as a government “of, by and for” the people. This assumed that the “people” meaning American citizens were involved.
Unfortunately, most Americans aren’t involved in our democracy. Too many of us believe that the responsibilities of a citizen are to vote, serve on a jury when summoned and occasionally volunteer. Read the rest of this entry »
Sound backwards? The founding fathers would think so. They knew that America’s priorities had to be “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and in that order as stated in the Constitution. They understood that if the country isn’t safe or is at war (“life), then we couldn’t be truly free (“liberty”). And they understood that if we aren’t free, then we can “pursue our happiness”.
Unfortunately, we have our priorities backwards and it shows. Too many of us care more about our pursuits of happiness, than we do about ensuring the country is strong and thus free.
We spend more time getting on Do Not Call lists than we do communicating with our elected officials. We teach our children how to prove that two triangles are congruent but don’t teach them how to be good citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
