America was founded on core beliefs. It was belief alone that inspired her earliest sons and daughters to persevere. Those patriots banded together to claim life as a right…by risking life. The belief in the right of freedom from oppressive government rule—as defined by elected representatives—was set in motion at a great expense. Unique in the mind of our forbearers was the belief that each had a right to proceed along a path toward happiness—however subjective happiness may be. And the plan to protect the entire enterprise is for children to become adults who love and protect these beliefs.
If America’s children complete their education and stay out of crime, they can expect the chance to be productive and enjoy life. We are a culture where thriving is a realistic assumption for those citizens who respect the beliefs held in our Declaration of Independence.
Woe to the adults who stand in the way of America’s children, who through action or neglect entice a child to leave the path of civil stability. Woe to the generation of citizens that inherits the care for the victims of those so enticed. Woe to the survivors of the nation when the core beliefs are held by the minority rather than the majority.
But wait a minute. “Majority” must be qualified. It is not the majority of citizens that makes the decisions that steer America. It is the majority of a particular subset. It is a majority of those who vote. Therefore the direction of the country does not follow the beliefs of her people but the beliefs of her voting people. Casting a vote is the minimum expectation placed on each citizen, and it is a privilege that helps insure government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Make it a point to vote. Heal our nation.
Finley Knowles
Ooltewah