OPINION:
On July 4, 1776, James Monroe was a mere 18 years old.
He went on to glory in the Continental Army at Trenton, New Jersey and eventually served as the fifth president of the United States. Alexander Hamilton was about 21. He was Gen. George Washington’s right-hand man, the one in the room where it happened, and eventually became the first secretary of the Treasury.
James Madison was 25 when he served as the primary author of the Constitution. He became our fourth president.
The man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was just 33 when he did so. He also served as president.
In other words, you don’t have to wait to defend freedom. The time is now.
Defending liberty isn’t easy, but it is worth the risk. Our Founders risked their lives, fortunes and sacred honor for the freedoms we hold dear today.
Most Americans have seen a print of the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware River on Dec. 25, 1776. Most, however, don’t know that this bold move was most certainly necessary to keep the War for Independence alive at the time.
After early victories in Boston, the members of the Continental Army took a beating in New York and went on the run. British forces decided to hunker down for the winter instead of finishing off Washington and his men. The crossing on late Christmas Day led to a much-needed victory.
The efforts were almost lost just a week later, as the terms of the men were up on Dec. 31, 1776. Washington made a valiant appeal to reenlistment, but his troops did not respond. It took a second, more impassioned appeal to get more than half the men to join him.
The war lingered on for years, but it would have all been over without Washington’s determination and, most certainly, God’s providence.
Perseverance was the key to success in the War for Independence.
Today, we face similar challenges. Our country is politically divided, and social media seem to be pushing that gap even further.
Fueled by major flaws in the traditional K-12 education system and the Marxist-driven takeover of our colleges and universities, support for the United States is down. The latest Gallup Poll shows the lowest level of pride in our country in the survey’s history.
The results are driven by Democrats and young people. While a mere 41% of those surveyed in Gen Z say they are proud to be American, the numbers climb to 58% for millennials, 71% for Generation X, 75% for baby boomers and 83% for the Greatest Generation.
Pride in America among Democrats dropped from 62% to 36% over the past year. In contrast, Republicans’ level of national pride went up to 92%, but is typically around 90% regardless of who is president. That makes sense, as pride in our country is rooted not in the government but in our founding principles. Many on the left base their pride on who is in power.
Not surprisingly, the lowest levels of pride in America were held by young liberals. My theory is that they buy into the divisive arguments of many educators in high school and college who undermine the Founders of our nation.
Often, they refuse to allow students to read documents key to the formation of our country, such as the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address. In 2023, nearly 700 tenured professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill signed a letter protesting proposed rules that would require every student in the state to take a course in American history and government, including the reading of key documents.
President Reagan warned us about this during his final address from the Oval Office in 1989. He challenged us to reengage in American history and share civic rituals. Many who see the low level of young people who take pride in our country blame Gen Z. I blame the rest of society.
We must demand that students be exposed to objective American history. They should know about the positive things the Founders of our nation did, not just the negatives. They also should be exposed to the documents that were fundamental to the formation of our republic.
At the same time, they should understand how our form of government compares with the rest of the world, as well as how our market-based economy outperforms so many others around the globe. This would lead to more young people being proud of our country.
• Scott Walker is a columnist for The Washington Times. He was the 45th governor of Wisconsin and launched a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He lives in Milwaukee and is the proud owner of a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King. He can be reached at swalker@washingtontimes.com.
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