Rep. Kristi Noem is South Dakota’s lone U.S. Representative, elected in November 2010. She serves on the Agriculture, Education and Workforce and Natural Resources Committees.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Pop quiz – is the quotation above from the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution? Did it take you a moment to remember that the answer was the Declaration of Independence? When was the last time you read through our nation’s founding documents? Have you read through them recently with your kids or grandchildren?
If your kids are anything like mine, come July and August they sometimes come into the house saying they’re “bored.” While I always have a long list of chores around the ranch that need to get done, a different assignment that’s worthwhile is to have them read through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and then discuss the documents afterward.
As President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
It’s part of our duty as Americans to make sure our children and grandchildren understand and appreciate the nature of the freedoms we enjoy – as well as how they were won through conflict and protected through the formation of a limited government.
Today there might be things (perhaps many things) in Washington, DC that frustrate you. I know there are things that frustrate me every day. Regardless of who’s up and who’s down in the daily skirmishes in Washington, it would be extremely unfortunate for the future of our country if we do not engender in our children a love for our country and the freedoms and liberties our founding fathers fought so bravely to carve out.
So please take a few moments this summer with the children in your life and read those old documents. Try to make them come alive. In doing so, you will be helping to preserve the great experiment that is America for another generation.
Comments