Ok, so between all the pieces on our failed education system (depressing), an unfinished debate with a friend (annoying), and bc I told @MZHemingway I would, here’s the tweet thread with my recent thoughts on passing on what we believe to our kids...
..we often hear a viewpoint that Jefferson held on government. That each generation should reshape/reinterpret laws to fit a new lens, and that what we fight for today could just as likely be forgotten tomorrow as our kids make their own choices about what matters most to them..
...and more importantly, that there’s nothing to be sad about if the next generation chooses a different path. After all, who are we to tell the future citizens what country they should want?
..but this is one of a few rare cases where I think Jefferson was completely wrong, and I reject this sentiment wholeheartedly. If we fight for anything today, we do a disservice to the next generation if we don’t teach them WHY we fight.
..Why we care about free speech, freedom of religion, or the right to bear arms...why America is unique among her peers in fundamental freedoms, and why those are worth defending. If my daughter doesn’t hear this from me, I truly believe I’ve failed her in a critical way..
..Of course I want to teach my daughter to think independently and make her own decisions about what she believes. But I also want to unabashedly defend the ideals and principles that I believe this nation was founded and should continue to rest on..
...she may choose a different set of values when she reaches adulthood. But she will do so having heard a full-throated defense of the heroes of our American experiment, and the words they wrote, fought, and died for..
..Our children will inherit the republic, if it survives. They are, after all, why we fight to continue it in the way we believe is right. So, don’t leave it to anyone else or be ashamed to teach them what you believe! (ok all done, y’all can unfollow me now)
