In 1798 President John Adams warned of the dangers that the worst of human passions might bring on our country. He wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He understood that our system does not depend on a dictator or an absolute monarch to keep the country together. Instead, our country depends on everyday citizens working together and standing for what is right and good.
Our system of government gives individual citizens both rights and responsibilities. The Declaration of Independence says that God gives us our rights and that government protects those rights. But rights come with responsibilities. Citizens have the responsibility to pay their taxes, to obey the law, to respect their leaders, to help in times of emergency, and so forth. If we do not bear our responsibilities, we might well lose the rights that God has given us.
People tend to complain about our government and our elected leaders, from grumbling about roads that need to be paved to shaking their heads at the federal government spending trillions more dollars than it has. An alarming number of people don’t even bother to vote. A large turnout for a presidential election is about two-thirds of eligible voters. About half the eligible voters take part in a midterm federal election, and less than 20% of eligible voters cast ballots in some local elections.
We can do better than that. Homeschooling gives your children opportunities to see government in action. You can take field trips to visit government offices and to see sessions of the state legislature. You can read the Constitution and discuss it as a family, study leaders from history, and learn how the branches of government work together. Your children can write letters to elected officials and listen to godly adults have real conversations about political issues and candidates running for office.
Our system of government depends on involved, educated, responsible citizens. As a homeschooling parent, you can know that you are helping to make your community, state, and nation better places to live. Knowing that you are preparing your students to be involved citizens and that you are helping bring about solutions will help you Be Happy Homeschooling!
