Everyone loves rights and no one loves duties. Our founders gave us complete control over our government, yet it was Franklin who famously defined it as “A republic. If you can keep it.” The freedom given by the Constitution is fragile and requires vigilant a watch against encroachment by government.

Yet vigilance is hard work. We must always watch what our representatives are doing and above all be informed. In Washington’s Farewell Address he cautioned that “public opinion should be enlightened.” Bill Damon a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of Failing Liberty 101; How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared by Citizenship in a Free Society, points out that we have failed to instill the civic virtue necessary for our kids to value and to exercise their duties as citizens in a free society. Is it too late? Have we set the stage for the decline and fall of Liberty in America? If future generations do not value liberty and are trained to detect its encroachments, the “shining city on the hill” will go dark.