It has been my honor to serve as State Representative of the beautiful town of Merrimack for the last four years. During that time I served on the house education committee. I fought for the rights of parents in education, choice for all children, and for the teaching of civics to be a priority in our schools. I fought for core values outside of education such as marriage, the sanctity of life, and the protection of our second amendment rights.
I entered office seeking unity with my party. However, I quickly realized that finding common ground on our most basic platform principles, like fiscal responsibility, was difficult. This past session, with a majority in both houses and a Republican governor, we still lost the fight on right-to-work, Medicaid expansion, and other fiscal and social issues.
I began to examine the fact that we, the conservative Republicans, kept losing essential votes, and where the problems within our government originated. I concluded that our state, and our nation, is in a culture war that is affecting every corner of our government, our schools, and ultimately in our homes. Millions of people are struggling with an identity crisis in America, and the result is a national identity crisis.
I often contemplated the root of all our societal and governmental problems. I came to the conclusion that when a nation’s culture is void of the very virtuous foundation it was originally built upon, everything else becomes corrupted.
At the root of every single issue is the individual. This is why it is so crucial that every individual to be raised with integrity and to understand right from wrong, to grasp the basic concept of personal responsibility and hard work. When a generation of people are raised in a culture that tolerates and even promotes manipulation, lying, cheating, and any other kind of wrongdoing, every aspect of society is affected. The result of that infection is a government that lacks integrity and purpose.
Going forward, how do we correct these problems? How do we restore our culture and government?
I believe we need to go back to educating Americans on the values of our founding fathers. We need to teach people how the values of our nation’s founders still play a role in their daily lives and how the founders’ concept of liberty still applies to everyday life for every American today.
If we can change the course of our culture, we will change the course of every area of society as a result. Government is a reflection of our culture. The same is true for education, entertainment, media, and other areas. It’s time to restore our culture, starting with the structure of the family, and begin to relate the founding values of America to everyday life.
We must preserve our Constitution and our rights.
We need to reflect on what the founders did to successfully create the greatest nation in the world and re-apply those same values to preserve liberty and prosperity for this generation and generations to come.
As Thomas Paine once famously stated, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Ask yourself, what would the Founders do?
