There seems to be a lot of discussion in certain circles that the majority of Americans are pretty clueless about our country’s founders, who they were, what they stood for, and what they were opposed to. We couldn’t explain the difference between Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Who knows what’s in the Bill of Rights?
I think that it wasn’t that long ago that people would have had a much better understanding about our form of government than we do today. Maybe we have just gotten too busy, or a bit too comfortable with a feeling that our country’s problems are so huge it’s impossible to come together and try to resolve them.
One of the things that our Founders wanted to see happen was that our country’s citizens be educated, especially in the workings of the government. Thomas Jefferson wrote “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” (The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Edited by Paul Ford, vol. 10, pg. 4)
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve totally lost touch with the foundations of our country. I think it’s safe to say that many in our government today might also benefit from a better understanding of just what we were supposed to be about when this country was founded.
I’m going to spend some time this weekend learning a bit more about the events that led up to our nation’s founding. I want to know why these courageous folks did what they did, said what they said, and thought what they thought. Somehow, I think they would have that expectation of all of us.
