Freedom 101: A citizen's duty should include a real knowledge of the country

The latest "situation" in Washington -- combined with some recent man on the street interviews in the national media -- suggest a crisis that many have lamented in the past, but that might just have reached critical proportion.

It can be summed up in one word: Ignorance. Or, if you prefer a less pejorative term: Apathy.

It applies in a multitude of situations -- those who do not pay attention or even stay in school and make a living out of being on the public dole; those whose prejudices (of any kind) cloud their ability to see reality or to accurately judge where the problems in society lie and how to solve them; and finally, those who know little about what is going on in their schools, communities and government, but cast votes and form opinions based not on reality, but on a mere shadow of truth.

So perhaps those who bemoan the fact that more people know the name of Justin Timberlake's latest record or the Top 5 television shows than understand the difference between the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, or, for that matter, can name any of the key players in Washington, are right to be sounding the alarm.

It makes you wonder just who is doing the deciding in America, making policies that our children and grandchildren will have to live with until they can change the personnel.

And it makes you understand just how cults of personality start and why they breed ignorance and corrupt leadership.

So, we have outlined the problem; now, what is the solution?

It isn't an easy fix. But it starts with requiring young people to know their government and their leaders and to understand not only the role they play in deciding the future of their country, but the responsibility they will inherit of protecting the freedom passed down to them by generations of patriots and heroes.

It means that every school child should be able to pass a basic citizenship test -- and that those of us who have let our skills slip should challenge ourselves to pass one, too.

It means celebrating technology, but also using it as a means to encourage research, discussion and citizen education. But it also requires knowing when it is time to turn it off and to put a book in a child's -- or our own -- hands.

It means protecting the free press and demanding that it live up to its calling -- to be a fair and impartial watchdog pointing out the misdeeds of all, reporting without bias and being the blind champion of none.

It requires all of us to look hard at what we believe, at the institutions we have fostered and the people who lead us and to decide if we are headed in the right direction or if it is time for a correction.

It is time for courage and for bipartisanship that fosters respectful discussion and not vapid disagreement that is nothing but a power grab.

It means demanding that the people we elect listen -- and act -- and that they be held to a higher standard, and possibly, limited in the power they can acquire.

And finally, it requires returning to a world where horse sense meant more than spin and when Americans valued the principles and the freedoms this country offers.

We need to remember what a privilege it is to live in a nation like this and to be keenly aware of what it takes to protect it and the sacrifices that have been made in our name.

We have seen glimpses of that spirit and that patriotism -- remember Sept. 11, 2001? The world changed that day and this nation rose up to become what its founders meant it to be: A place where a flag meant something, heroes were heroes and people cared about people they had never met.

We were one then. We were better then. And we can get there again. But we have to want it, too, and be unwilling to sit back and to let someone else do the work.

It is time to remember our roots, to learn about this nation and to care about its greatest asset -- liberty.

It really is up to each of us to do better. And we can get there just as we have done many times before, together.

Published in Editorials on October 5, 2013 11:27 PM