Jan 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan delivered his famous  “A Warrior’s Pledge” speech. In this speech, he describes what has made America unique, what has made America the “promise land”.

He says “if we were to look at the answer of why we have achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual freedom of man that has never been done before. The price of this freedom has always been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.”

In our current day, the circumstances are no different. Each of us must pay a price to keep our sacred liberties. 

Our civic duty is what patrols the line between freedom and oppression.

How do we fulfill this duty? I believe there are three areas.

1. To be Informed

Rep.  Tim Walberg told a room full of his constitutions that Congress can do anything they want as long as they have a majority regardless of what the constitution says”

This statement worries me.

Congress is not respecting the limitations put in place by our constitution.

It’s easy to point the finger at congressmen as the problem.

But how did those elected officials get into office? They were elected by us the people. The responsibility of protecting our rights does not end with the elected officials, it goes beyond that to you and me.

The Declaration states that the government gets “their just powers from the consent of the governed.

We are the governed.

We are the true guardians of liberty.

Samuel Adams said “If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav’d. This will be their great Security.”

Are we informed, is knowledge diffused among us or are we as a people ignorant of the role of government?

Some statistics come to mind only half of the adults in the country could name the three branches of government the NY times 2017

CNN reported in 2016 than 10% of college graduates think the reality tv host Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court.

How secure are our liberties if this is our informed populace?

America was established because our founders were informed. They knew their rights and they knew their rights weren’t being protected by the government of England.

Being informed is key to protecting what has made America unique.

Know your rights.

Read our original documents.

Learn from our history.

Once you are informed now be involved.

2. To be Involvement.

The Declaration states that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”

We the people hold the power and therefore the civic duty of keeping the government in check.

Too often we take on the mentality that it’s not our job, our voice won’t be heard or that someone else will do it. But as elected officials continue to disregard the limitations put on them by the constitution it becomes clear that we can not afford to be uninvolved.

Now when people think of being involved in politics they immediately think of the Federal government.

Ironically the federal government is the level of government where your voice has the least impact. It also is the hardest to make changes at that level and really get things done.

The real area of influence is in the local government. In your city councils, with your mayors, rubbing shoulders with your neighbors.

America is unique because we have empowered and protected the rights of the individual with the constitution. But words on a piece of paper do not stand alone, they require the actions of you the citizen. And it is our privilege and duty to fulfill that obligation.

Some practical examples of being involved: An informed person is to elect people who respect the limits of the government to office, attend city council meetings. Remeber how officials voted when election time comes around, be apart of a group like the American legion.

3. To be Invested

The highest price demanded from us to fulfill our civic duty is to be willing to give up our lives.

The sloping hills of the Arlington Cemetery show a tiny fraction of this price. Each tombstone is a monument to the freedom we have because of those who have done their civic duties and paid this price.

Martin Traptal, fought in France with the famous rainbow division, on the western front. As he was carrying a message between battalions he was killed. On his body a journal was found. And inscribed in the journal a simple message read.” America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice as if the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

This is the power of our civic duty. There is no force as formidable as the sacrifice of free man and women.

Therefore we must do everything to continue to protect what has made our country unique by uphold our civic duty.