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Show Hinckley Journal of Politics 2006 Civic and Character Education in Utah-A Connection to History and the Continuing Stewardship of All Citizens and Public Officials Representative LaVar Christensen, Member, Utah State House of Representatives I appreciate all that the Hinckley Institute and its Journal do to educate the citizens of Utah. A virtuous, informed and responsible citizenry is essential in America, where our laws represent the "witness and external deposit of our moral life" (Holmes, 1897, p.151). In 1787, when a new Constitution was signed and adopted after months of debate and deliberations, a woman anxiously asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin, "What type of government have you delegates given us, Sir?" He wisely replied, "A Republic, madam, if you can keep it" (Isaacson, 2003, p. 459). "Keeping" our Republic is the continuing stewardship of every succeeding generation of Americans. At Gettysburg, Lincoln honored the dead who gave the "last full measure of devotion" to the cause that would decide whether a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal....can long endure." He called for a heightened resolve that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." "Freedom is a fragile thing and never more than a generation away from extinction" (Ryan, 1995, p. 32). It cannot be taken for granted. "It must be fought for and defended con-stantly by each generation..." (Ryan, p. 32). We are fortunate today to live in a time of rapid travel and rapid communication. Television, print media and Internet flood us with news updates. World history and world geography are constantly before us. No one can really be completely uninformed or unaware unless they choose to turn away and be indifferent. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Thus, "the only choice we have is to be consciously aware of our worldviews and criticize them where they need criticizing, or let them work on us unnoticed and acquiesce to living unexamined lives" (Smith, 2002, p. 21). Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see" (Feulner and Wilson, 2006, p. 4). History is the foundation on which the present rests. The lessons and experience of those who have gone before are a source of wisdom and strength for the generations that follow. It is a continuing process. It is the steady march of freedom. It calls for citizens who understand and value the price and origin of their independence and know what is required to maintain it. As President John Quincy Adams said, "Posterity-you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it" (Federer, 2000, p. 20). In such a country, citizens take the right and responsibility to vote very seriously. They study the issues and the candidates. They evaluate current conditions and determine the issues that are most pressing and promising. They make principled decisions. They exhibit a collective wisdom and judgment that reflects a willingness to subordinate individual self interests to the greater public good. Today, in the schooling of our youth, we speak of a global economy, what is required to compete and the need for greater math and science initiatives. As important as those considerations are, they send an unintended message of preeminent materialism. As we strive to qualify and equip the worker, we also must not neglect the citizen. The very purpose and nucleus of all public education is civic or citizenship education. Thus, Thomas Jefferson advocated a public education system that would place an elementary school in every county within three miles of every household and a college within a day's (horse) ride to be funded by self-imposed taxes for the good of everyone (Allison, Maxfield, Cook and Skousen, 1983 pp. 411-12). He understood, as did the other Founders of this nation, that representative democracy in America depends upon the existence of a responsible and educated citizenry. National studies and statistics reveal a downward trend in the level of civic knowledge and engagement by all Americans, but especially among today's young people. Since the right to vote was lowered to age 18 in 1972, declining numbers of young people vote each year. Many lack interest, trust and knowledge about American politics and public life 91 |
