Making America Great Again: Protecting Freedom with Truth

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

(CSB)

With completion of the protective wall, the exiles have safely returned.  All seems well but freedom is a fragile thing and needs protection.  For Nehemiah this meant insuring the people understood fully the truths contained in the world of God for the reason for their exile was due to lack of obedience (Ezekiel 12:8-11).  The exile was in fulfillment of what God warned them about in Deuteronomy 11:26-32.  Nehemiah knew that the freedom of Israel would be short lived were the people to return to their rebellious ways. 

Likewise, freedom in the United States is a fragile thing and in need of truth to defend it.  Unfortunately, the present education system in the United States does not teach the meaning and history of the founding documents leaving a void of truth and susceptibility of people to deceptive philosophies causing many to believe the foundation of freedom expressed in the founding documents of the Unite States needs transformation because it is flawed.  We need an infusion of truth to resist the deceptive temptation to abandon the solid foundation of the founding of the United States.  Learning the true history behind the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution must,

1)      Begin at home – While most of us are not history professors or constitutional attorneys, we do have valuable experience about the opportunities offered because of the liberties we have by living in the United States.  In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 God commands the people of Israel to share the statutes of God with their children.  Those of us living in the United States should also learn what we can about the constitution and share it with our children.  Some valuable resources are these links to the Constitution (1) and Declaration of Independence.  (2)  Hillsdale College also offers free online courses on the Constitution.  (3) 

2)      Be a requirement for graduation from High School – Since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), there is regular testing of schools in the United States to insure they are providing students with the skills they need to succeed.  However, there should also be a requirement to understand the founding documents of the country and their history.  To insure schools and teachers are fulfilling this requirement, NCLB should include testing of students understanding of these documents because these students will become adults with many working and living in the United States.  To succeed in whatever career these students choose, they need an understanding of the history of the founding of the United States, and how its government works.  This also insures they become intelligent voters and do not fall for deceptive political rhetoric. 

3)      Be a requirement for legal entrance into the United States – Similar to requiring knowledge of the history and the founding documents of the United States prior to graduation, anyone seeking to legally enter this country, whether they become citizens or not, should learn the history and about the founding documents of the country.  Granted these individuals cannot legally vote but they are residents of the country and we must insure they understand how the country they have chosen to live in works. 

4)      Regularly read and studied by every citizen and legal resident – Important documents like the founding documents of the United States, as well as the Bible, are not documents to read once and never reviewed again.  Studies have shown that over time what we remember fades.  This fading of our memory means we must regularly review literature we want to remember.  Therefore, daily reading of the Bible is vital for Christians as it reinvigorates our memory of the Word of God.  Similarly, citizens and legal residents of the United States should regularly review the founding documents of the United States.  This posting and now this web page contain links to these important documents as well as a link to an online Bible. 

Freedom in the United States is a fragile thing and presently threatened by the lack of knowledge of the truths contained in the founding documents of the country.  Voters unaware of the foundational truths of the founding of the nation fall prey to opportunistic politicians promising that government can meet all their needs.  This is not the government those that fought to establish this country envisioned, instead they envisioned a country where everyone could pursue their rights to life, liberty, and happiness with government assuming the role of protecting their pursuits.  We therefore must infuse citizens with truth just as Nehemiah did to insure protection of our fragile freedoms.  As the Bible reminds us, truth sets us free (John 8:32). 

1. constitutionus.com. The Constitution of the United States. constitutionus.com. [Online] [Cited: January 21, 2017.] http://constitutionus.com/.

2. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

3. Hillsdale College. Hillsdale College Free Online Courses. www.hillsdale.edu. [Online] Hillsdale College. [Cited: April 16, 2018.] https://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/free-online-courses/.