Next year is the 250-year anniversary of the founding of the United States.
I have a recommendation for we Americans who care about this constitutional republic. We need to re-learn civics.
When I was a Boy Scout as a teen I earned three merit badges enroute to becoming an Eagle Scout:
Citizenship in the Community
Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the World
This seems so out of place and un-natural in 21st century America, where the country’s founding documents seem to be increasingly extracurricular reading for us.
The American Enterprise Institute launched an initiative in 2024 entitled, “We Hold These Truths.” It is a series of eight short books edited by Yuval Levin and others. The first three of the books have been published, five more are to come. You can find the information on this here.
The most recent book is entitled, “Religion and the American Revolution.” I have not yet read it but everyone who calls themselves a “Christian” should certainly do so (as well as others of course). The confusion Americans have over the role of religion in society is profound today, most especially among Christians. I am looking forward to reading this book.
The American Enterprise Institute is a conservative think tank. It is not aligned with a political party but clearly is oriented toward a Reagan Republicanism. Another helpful organization is the Brookings Institution which in my opinion is more centrist than AEI.
While a minority of US citizens believe that the country is headed in the right direction or that the constitutional republic is not being undermined (the right-wing Rasmussen Report says 43% of people), a majority of Americans are mildly or wildly alarmed at the state of the country. According to the Gallup Organization, 37% of Americans approve of the job that Mr Trump is doing as President, 58% disapprove.
The greatest danger to the United States is ignorance of the role of ordinary citizens. The current administration preys on our lack of understanding or desire to become more civically minded. As we relinquish these rights we enable those whose interests are not primarily for the country but for themselves and their allies and friends.