Alexis de Tocqueville, in his 1830s book “Democracy in America,” assessed why America was so prosperous. His words speak loud and clear:
“Every citizen is taught … the history of his Country, and the leading features of its Constitution … It is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is sort of a phenomenon.”
History has proven de Tocqueville’s conclusion that Biblical wisdom disseminated among the masses, combined with knowledge of the Constitution, has produced prosperity, while moral decadence, apathy, and ignorance have produced tyranny.
We have failed ourselves and our posterity by not valuing education. Our lack of political wisdom has corrupted the halls of government. It is now completely opposite to the 1830s. It’s common to find citizens and officeholders with insufficient knowledge of the Constitution. I have concluded that taxpaying citizens need to become teachers of their state and federal legislators. After over half a century of letters and emails requesting answers, most responses total up to canned opinions of party hierarchy, as with our present NH DC delegation. It’s tragic that majorities vote candidates into office, seem to never catch on, that hiring representation that represents the will of their party is a dangerous habit.
FreedomIndex.com rates legislators’ fidelity to the Constitution throughout the 50 states. In NH, it shows that Senators Shaheen and Hassan, along with Representatives Pappas and Goodlander, have scored a perfect 0, 10 out of 10 times, in the 119th Congress. They have been completely disobedient to the U.S. Constitution. Check out Senator Shaheen’s latest common response to my letter, which included a Freedom Index:
“Thank you for contacting my office about The New American’s “Freedom Index.” I appreciate hearing from you about this issue. Maintaining open communication with the people of New Hampshire is very important to me and I appreciate hearing your ideas and concerns. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as the Senate considers the important issues facing our nation.”
After three terms, she certainly has gained a lot of political savvy, but not much forthright representation. The NH majority has given uninformed support to her throughout her three terms. Educating Informed electorates is the only lasting way to produce constitutional government with lower taxes.
Go online to the Freedom Index and view how your state and federal legislator have paid you back with their votes. Don’t get mad, get active. Restoration of liberty that Detoqueville so admired several centuries ago is hard work. Download, copy, and send.
In NH and throughout the nation, big-spending enemies of life and liberty must get the message from majorities of taxpayers who say: “It’s my way or the highway.”
Russ Payne hails from the Midwest, a man of humble beginnings. Happily married for 64 years with four children and ten grandchildren to show for it. He honorably served our beloved country in the Army Security Agency for three years. After getting out of the service, he was a blue collar worker until the age of 85. Joining The John Birch Society (“JBS”) in 1968 powerfully changed his life. JBS ignited a lifelong passion for country, preseveration of liberty, and learning. In 1974, the greatest transformation came when he bowed his knee to Christ.
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