Teaching History: Ignorance is Not Bliss

September 30, 2011

Statistics are proving that even college kids wish they had a better education.

According to Anne D. Neal, whose “Letter to the Editor,” is in the Wall Street Journal today: “A recent Roper survey found that 70% of Americans believe that colleges and Universities should require all students to take basic classes in core subjects such as writing, math, science, economics, U.S. History and a foreign language. That number spikes to 80% among 25 to 34 year olds those recently surveyed out of college who find that their diploma is often not worth the paper it’s printed on.”

Note that U.S history is in the mix. I am a fervent believer that our students must know about their country’s rich heritage and have a thorough understanding about the United States Constitution that goes beyond just reciting the Preamble.

I am aghast about how many Americans think of the Constitution as, “well, uhh, freedom of speech…” The Bill of Rights is of paramount importance but all of them, plus the amendments, go asunder if the 7 Articles of the Constitution are not comprehended and thus, respected.

One cannot respect what one does not understand.

If the checks and balances, and brilliant separation of powers, falter, usurpation inevitably follows and another form of government will prevail: tyranny, socialism.. The coveted Bill of Rights will then be forfeited and Americans will be stunned – “how did this happen?”

Ignorance is not bliss. This, however, is how many progressive want the American public, and especially the upcoming generations – ignorant regarding U.S. History as it was, not as it is, “revised,” and most certainly ignorant regarding the founding principles and the relevancy and vitality of the Constitution.

John Adams said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”

If we are not going to learn U.S History in our schools, then we must teach ourselves and our prodigy. I have. I realized my lack of “education” and started a journey, a quest for knowledge, that has resulted in launching a foundation, “Constituting America.”

I read American History books voraciously. The one I am reading now and I highly recommend is The Essential American by Jackie Gingrich Cushman. It is a “Patriot Resource” and has “25 Documents and Speeches Every American Should Know.”

Sit down at the dinner table with this book, whether alone or with family and/or friends. I have found it to be so delightful it has inspired 4 of my essays this week. (You may scroll down to read them.)

In conclusion, the more I learn, the more I want to share it, the more I yearn for our children to know about it. America is the last best hope.  Let not the flame of liberty falter under our watch. Our voice at the schools, our vote in the elections, our mission of seeking truth will save our Republic.

Have you read your Constitution today?

Joyfully,

Janine Turner

http://www.constitutingamerica.org

The Janine Turner Radio Show – Daily, and Saturdays on 570 KLIF

http://www.janineturner.com

In case you missed my Saturday night show on 570 AM KLIF, here is my interview with Kellyanne Conway.

*** iPod users must click “Download”.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

September 29, 2011

Entitlements: The Sacrificing of our Rights to Big Government

Our nation was borne upon a new set of ideas, a new set of principles, that man everywhere has an unconquerable desire to be the master of his own destiny. Hope has always been the great, unshakable virtue in our country. This hope became a reality during 1776 with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress backed by their constituents and by the leadership of George Washington who was already in the field.

From the pilgrims to the depression, through wars and uncertain times, hope has been offered by America. Hope  - set upon the foundation of firm principles. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Our Declaration of Independence goes on to talk about a government that had become destructive to these ends, which of course in the context of the Declaration of Independence was Great Britain.

I pause upon those words: whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends..”

Is this not what is happening today? Our government is so big and invasive that is has become destructive to, not only our rights to privacy, and the right to keep “the bread of our labor, but to our very survival.

Our Big Government is becoming “destructive to these ends.”

“Life, Liberty and the pursuits of Happiness”

The American people recognize this hence, the low approval ratings of government, which are at an all time low.

They are passing bills that they not understand and they are passing bills that the American people do not endorse. Not to mention, they are riddled in the mire of inadequacy in regard to dealing with the debt.

It’s as if the country is on fire and the American people are trying to put it out but Washington, D.C. just keeps adding kerosene to the flames.

It is truly out of control. The debt is rising each and every moment of each and every day as a group of 12 men are hidden in a room, out of sight of their constituencies and the guide of the Constitution, making mysteries. And our President is on the campaign trail, using our tax dollars, telling the American people that we should just spend more money.

This is truly horrifying. It would be a comedy, a satire – if it were not so tragic.

The long and short of it is: Big Government threatens our pursuits of, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” With every government entitlement we accept, we endorse, we ignore and we do not fight, we lose our freedom.

I had a friend say to me once when I kept returning to a bad situation, “What’s the payoff?”

Are we willing to risk out liberties, our rights, our freedoms, our national security, our country, to Big Government?

We must ask ourselves if accepting “big daddy’s” money is worth playing by “big daddy’s rules.”

We must rekindle and recapture our sense of American dignity that is based on our God given rights. God gives our rights, not government.

If we acquiesce our rights to government, then we are in essence taking our God given birth rights and putting them into man’s hands. This is the sure path to tyranny. Men are not angels.

Tyranny is like the tentacles of an octopus. Think of its arms like entitlements. With every entitlement we accept, liberty will be squeezed from us until we are trapped in the tentacles of government, our freedoms forfeited.

Hope. We are a country built on hope. A hope that was garnered form an inner strength. Our forefathers looked not to government but to God and their inner strengths for hope. Calvin Coolidge wrote in his speech, ‘The Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence,” about the true grit and determination of our forefathers and foremothers:”

The American Revolution represented the informed and mature convictions of a great mass of independent, liberty loving, God-fearing people who knew their rights, and possessed the courage to maintain them.

We the people, must have the courage to maintain our independence and liberty.

I think we do. It begins with our conviction to break free from the chains that bind us: a government that has out grown the confines of its true intent and the United States Constitution.

America has always been the great hope of mankind, like the hand of a great comforter. Within her land is opportunity for optimism and a creed that inspires courage. Within these principles we find our hope and our convictions to correct the wrongs that are taking America toward the cliff of abyss.

The progressives, the liberals, have the sacred right to express themselves, but we must have the reason to combat it.

Janine Turner

Call into my show and share your thought with me info on my home page http://www.janineturner.com or blog here!

September 28, 2011

Morning. I have two points upon which to reflect this morning and they both are from the brilliant mind of Thomas Jefferson. By the way, as I say his name, I am noting that when we mention our founding fathers we rarely worry about titles. We rarely say, General George Washington or President John Adams or Chief Justice/Governor John Jay or Governor/President Thomas Jefferson. They are known by their name, their honor, their dignity, their legacy.

No titles are necessary when we speak their names. They would be very happy about this. They wanted it to be this way. They put in the Constitution in Article 1 Section 9, “No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States.” Of course President and Governor and General are not titles of nobility but I take it one step further and refer to the lack of need for such American titles when greatness exceeds the label. When we reflect upon their words, their greatness, when we seek their guidance, we are seeking their inspiration and their contributions as patriots.

Do we not owe this to our country? Do we not owe our contributions and lasting legacies to our great country? No contribution is too small. Perhaps it’s just taking the time to teach our prodigy the importance of such virtues based upon the rock of our profound heritage and our constructive Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson. In his first Inaugural Address 1801, he spoke about reason. I am fascinated with reason. As a Christian, I realize that reason must be put aside. The spirit of God is mysterious. However, when it comes to governing, politics and education, reason is paramount. Hence, the slogan for my radio show is: “Where is Reason?” Thomas Jefferson reflects upon reason twice in his first Inaugural Address:

Now decided by the voice of the nation, announced according to the rules of the Constitution all will of course arrange themselves under the will of the law; and unite in common efforts for the common good. All too will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable.

We must have reason in this country. Our Constitution helps to provide such thoughtful purpose by building a structure of government that keeps check on the usurpation of power mongers and destructive passions. Let us not forget the daily relevance of the 7 Articles of the Constitution. They are in play every day in Washington, DC. If one thinks not, they are not privy to the document or they wish to disregard it. The genius of the Constitution is not just in the Amendments, the Amendment process, but also in the Articles. Men are not angels and must be kept in check.

And they must be reasonable. This does not simply apply to our Representatives. It applies to us. Governing, and we the people rule through our representatives, is like a sailboat. It heaves from side to side and is in danger of capsizing, sinking. Only when it recovers its equilibrium and centers, does it save itself. Only when it finds its center, its reason, can it proceed.

Are we not at this point in our country? We are in danger of sinking because we have lost our center. We have lost our reason. Reason can only be wrought by: education, the cooling of passions and a unity in the desire to save America by steadying her course and proceeding forward.

Our country is currently seized by a President who is off center, lacks reason, is steeped in party rhetoric and passions, and we are, thus, unable to proceed. Such areas are: government regulations, unfunded mandates and taxations upon businesses, especially small businesses. Once again, those men in tights and wigs had a few inspirational thoughts based on reason. Thomas Jefferson:

.. a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.

Thomas Jefferson’s wisdom was steeped in reason and he was a reasonable man.

History had proven to him, and history has proven to us in the 20^th century alone, that taking from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned led to financial depression followed by despotism. This is not party rhetoric. This is truth.

Obama waving the partisan flag of taxation, inciting class warfare, is counterproductive and it is, as we say in Texas, “plum unreasonable.” We don’t need to heave to the side. We need to find the center. We need to be steady and proceed on our course as the most compelling nation on earth: Industrious, brilliant, prosperous, good and the last great hope. I close with the words, once again, of Thomas Jefferson:

If there is any among us who would wish to dissolve this union, or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it.

Where is reason?

Janine Turner

Listen to my radio show today at 1:00 Central/2:00 Eastern. We will be discussing this issue with you, callers, and our special guest Andrew Langer! All details on my home page of my website: http://www.janineturner.com

Day 3 of my weekday radio show, the Janine Turner Show, on the Janine Turner Network. Monologue: Thomas Jefferson on Reason and Taxation. Guest: Andrew Langer on how federal regulations are strangling small businesses.

Where is Reason? On the Janine Turner Show.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In case you missed my Saturday night show on 570 AM KLIF, here is my interview with Grover Norquist.

*** iPod users must click “Download”.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Janine Turner Show Daily #2

Monologue : Hypocrisy in Hollywood My Response to the Recent Celebrity Attacks on the Tea Party

Callers and Fun

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

September 26, 2011

I have had to listen to it for years, on sets, at dinners, in rehearsals, in the make-up chair, at award ceremonies. I have had to sit back and hear the judgmental, hot, mostly uninformed and biased rants of the Hollywood liberals breath down my neck and suffocate the air from the room. Usually, the rant was so hostile, I was afraid to speak up, or it was so ridiculous, I thought it futile to reply.

The liberal Hollywood elite, who stand firmly on their right to be heard, their right to express, their right to persuade through art – blatantly and arrogantly deny that same freedom, that same right to anyone who may disagree with them. And like most liberals, they cannot see it and/or refuse to deviate from denial.

I sat through many ceremonies, and one Emmy ceremony in particular that was embroiled with one anti-conservative, anti-Republican remark after another. I remember sitting slumped in my chair just counting the moments until I could be released from the lion’s den. There I was – a captive to their point of view and solely their point of view. I was a hostage, like the American populace is a hostage, to the slick, slanderous and seductive permeation of the liberal agenda.

I couldn’t wait to leave Hollywood. I always felt like I was in a bubble when I lived there or that I was swirling around, being buffeted about, in a stifling, tropical snow globe. It was like that fabulous Jim Carey scene where he was in a boat and beating on the sky, on the set of the world, wanting to get out. I don’t remember the movie… but I remember the scene and the feeling it invoked.

Hollywood. They think America is inherently bad. They think America is an embarrassment. Yet they are gorging themselves on the American dream.

Hollywood, the surreal world, the pretend world, the ironic world where free enterprise, their show business, is displayed, executed and embraced in a riveting way  - yet the inhabitants regurgitate on capitalists. Hollywood, where stars, movie producers, writers and agents actively seek glamour, money, power and fame. They unabashedly embrace fast cars, facelifts and fly in private jets. They drink fine wines and insist on free spirits and are the ultimate connoisseurs who insist on living liberty at large.

They deplore censorship. Yet, they embrace tyrants such as Hugo Chavez. They annihilate Wall Street. Yet, they run to see how many millions their movies have grossed. They think ObamaCare works nicely for those poor people in the “fly over states.” Yet, they demand only the top doctors for themselves. They live lush. Yet, they ignore debt. What debt? They think Socialism is a nicety whose time has come – yet, not for them.

If you build it, they will come. Imagine the collapse of Hollywood’s playground. Imagine the free fall of their financial field. Imagine the march of despotism on their freedom of speech. Imagine the strangling of their rights and riches.

They would howl like a lone wolf in a western. They would beg like Scarlett O’Hara. They would scream like the Wicked Witch of the West. However, instead of screaming, “I’m melting, I’m melting.” They would scream, “Not me! Not me!”\

Janine Turner

Join me and let’s chat on my Daily Radio Show, The Janine Turner Show on The Janine Turner Network @ 1:00pm Central and on Saturdays on 570 KLIF at 9:00pm Central. Details on http://www.janineturner.com

Howdy. Here is my debut radio show – daily. The Janine Turner Show on the Janine Turner Network – from my studio in the land of lamps! The callers and I started our own poll today on who will win as the Republican Candidate. So far – 1 for Cain and 1 for Romney. Call in tomorrow and let me know your thoughts! Joyfully, Janine

Podcast: Play in new window | Download