The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The Amendment was included to protect the citizenry from a tyrannical government like the one ruling over us today. The Founders wanted people equipped to take back their government.
Last week, the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department (YCSD) announced online concealed weapon applications where one can now have 5 instead of just 3 guns listed. That is good news for a socialist state like Komifornia but it is philosophically light years away from what the Constitution intended where no registry of guns was mandated. In the meantime, kudos to YCSD for heading in the right direction.
There is a liberal movement nationally to undermine and disrespect law enforcement while removing guns from citizens. Liberals also want no borders and for American taxpayers to pay the living expenses of lawless foreigners settling in Sanctuary Cities.
This is all coming at a time when there is a national dumbing-down of students that can no longer recognize the distinctive attributes of the American way. A survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation found that 2 of 3 college graduates thought Karl Marx’s quote “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” (The Communist Manifesto) was written by America’s Founding Fathers.
Marx’s slogan was an endorsement of centralized government control where wealth would be taken from those that had and given to those that had not. Wherever this system of governance has been implemented economies are ruined. (See Venezuela and Cuba for current examples).
According to the Wilson Foundation Survey, only 1 of 3 graduates could describe a right protected by the First Amendment. Ten percent thought the Bill of Rights included the right to own a pet. Only 53% knew that the first Ten Amendments were called the Bill of Rights. Just 35% of graduates could quote the first three words of the Constitution, “We the People.”
One-half of the graduates did not know the term limits of the Senate or the House of Representatives. One in ten thought Congress could outlaw atheism. Forty percent did not know Congress had the power to declare war. More could name the Three Stooges than the three branches of government. Ten percent thought Judge Judy serves on the Supreme Court.
If put to a vote today, only half of those surveyed said they would vote to adopt the Constitution. Even fewer believe that Congress should follow the Constitution. The idea of a society anchored to morality and the rule of law seemed irrelevant to most of those queried.
George Washington said the “education of our youth in the science of government” is vital because they are “the future guardians of the liberties of the country.” Yet the National Center for State Courts found that only 1 in 5 U.S. adults can correctly name all three branches of government, and 2 in 5 couldn’t name a single one.
Samuel Adams wrote that the nation’s freedom would be secure so long as “virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people.” However, the tank is near empty of both attributes.
Thomas Jefferson said that a nation cannot be “both ignorant and free.” For the sake of our nation as it was designed and our personal freedom, it is essential that we return to teaching American Civics. We are failing the founders.
Our form of government initially based upon a seedbed of virtue and self-discipline has produced a prosperity and liberty unmatched in human history. A man once said that any idiot can receive a blessing. It takes someone with intelligence to discover the purpose of the blessing or in this case the way of life that brought the blessing.
Today, college graduates’ Civics “IQ” would be considered deficient or moronic. For those who do get it, we are in real trouble.