by Diane Robertson
Parents if you want your children to maintain their rights under the Constitution of the United States, you must teach your kids history and a love of freedom. You cannot expect this to be taught in school. About 100 years ago, John Dewey brought progressive ideas into education. How history was taught changed. Before then, students learned that America was great, and that the Constitution was good. They were taught to be proud of their country. Today, students are often taught anti-American sentiments in history classes. Ideas from Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States, permeates the school room. Just ask your kids about Columbus, George Washington, Native Americans, immigration and so on. They will echo many of Zinn’s anti-American sentiments.
This change in how history was taught has led to serious change away from the original intent of the Constitution. Originally, the Constitution intended for the federal government to be small with limited powers. It was meant to tie the states together and to protect the nation from foreign threat, not to make laws that dictate the daily lives of the people.
Did you know that James Madison, who wrote the Constitution, gave a speech on the Cod Fishery Bill, which would grant bounties to the House of Representatives, February 3, 1792? In part, he said this:
“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasure; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision of the poor. . . .
Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America.”
I did not know this until just recently. I learned that the United States of America today is not what was intended by the authors of the Constitution.
A few days ago, I read about a survey coming from a conservative and religious university. I was alarmed to find out that the majority of the students polled said they intended to vote for the candidate who was pushing Socialism. Socialism is a form of government based on a political and economic theory that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. In other words, a few people in the government tax heavily the people and then redistribute it. Social governments tend to regulate everything from property rights to social norms to business and finances.
As the federal government adopts more and more socialist ideals, the American people lose more and more freedom. Health care, education, businesses, property, and even our dearly held rights to the free exercise of religion and the freedom of speech are being regulated.
If we want to maintain these freedoms, our children need to know that the Constitution of the United States was written to ensure those rights for the people. The Constitution was written to keep the regulation of day to day in the hands of the states. That gave each individual more say and more representation in the government. With a large federal government regulating the day to day lives of the American citizens, the people have less and less representation and say in those laws.
Think about it. Your state representative represents a few thousand people. They usually listen to the voters and care about what they want. Your federal representative represents a few million people giving you much less voice and much less say. The Constitution was written to give the people a lot of say in the laws and regulations that affected their day to day lives.
The Constitution did not intend for a few people in the federal government dictating education, healthcare, marriage, business practices, property rights and use, religion, and speech. Those were left to the states, so that each person can have the most amount of say in the laws that regulate them.
Do your children know this? Do your children know that the Founding Fathers meant for them to have a lot of say in laws and regulations that affect their day to day lives? They are not being taught this in school. You can teach it to them by reading the Founding Documents and discussing them with your children. Read the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federalist Papers. Talk to your children about their right to be free and to have a voice in their communities.
A wise man once said, “Home life, proper teaching in the home, parental guidance and leadership—these are the panacea for the ailments of the world and its children.” Parents be the ones to teach your children, it will help them to be free, and it will change the world.