Patriotic Musings

Independence Day is a day most Americans reflect on their country's founding heritage by having barbecues and watching fireworks themed to inspirational pop or country music. That's all fine and dandy, but I decided this year to start a new tradition of my own. In order to keep the ideas our nation was founded on alive, I am going to read the Declaration of Independence every 4th of July with whoever will join me. This year, Atlas joined me while Jessica got to sleep in for once. I doubt he understood it all, but someday he will.

The results of reading it, however, aren't too surprising for those that know me. I got agitated. If you haven't read it recently, I encourage you to do so and replace the "King of Great Britain" with the "United States Federal Government". The results are, well, agitating. And while things may not be quite as bad as they were in 1776, they are too damn close for comfort.

So why do people not seem to mind? Well, for one I think it's because the "tyrant" is local and not foreign. It's easier to get angry when a stranger is trying to control you and not your neighbor. But I mostly blame education and the dumbing down of America. I recently came across a Civil Literacy Quiz that I encourage everyone to take. The results are eye opening. Nationwide, across all education levels and demographics, we FAIL as a nation with an average score of 49%. What is even scarier, is that the average score for those that have held an elected position was 44%. You would think that the people leading this country would know more about this country than the average Joe. More people could name the American Idol judges than identify that a given phrase was from the Emancipation Proclamation. With priorities like that, maybe we are just getting what we deserve.