A New Generation Steps to the Plate

On June 21, 1788 a nation was created that finally allowed a man to live the way God intended him to live. It was established with the ratification of a sacred document. The first words on the page were "we the people," and it preached how to become the most admirable people the world had ever known. It taught that we could not be kept from worshiping freely, and that we are free to speak, print, and amplify all our feelings and ideas. It taught that our property could not be stolen or used without our consent, and that we could not be punished without a chance to speak in our own defense. We were taught that no one's rights denied others theirs, and that we each have a right to defend ourselves against injury, theft, and encroachment. We learned that limited power should be split between nation and state, but that the best government is self-government. Our ancestors, now found they could direct their own fate and trust their own judgment. They discovered that if they took a firm, energetic hold on their lives, that they would be the beneficiaries of their own sacrifice, persistence, and hard work. They learned of the joy and satisfaction that came from such a life, and they passed these lessons to their children.

Within 150 short years we surpassed the world, and the United States of America became the greatest country on earth. It was during a time of enormous prosperity that an alternate ideology arose. It started to quietly contend that all that had been taught was not entirely true. It said not everything we earn is ours to keep, particularly if we are blessed with more. It said that most of us lack the ability to decide for ourselves what is right, and that we often fail to correct our mistakes properly. Many adhered to this belief and they began to compromise the lessons they had learned. It became acceptable to abridge the freedom to speak as long as the unpleasant no longer had to be heard. Religion was slightly taboo and they agreed not to worship in some places. They allowed government to make more and more of their personal decisions, as long as the experts they employed could assure them of stability. They would let someone take from their property if they no longer had to work as hard. As long as they were promised aid and support, it was fine for the state to sell its autonomy to the central government. Freedoms were sacrificed, and the past lessons were forgotten.

From the beginning of our lives, as we were raised, and as we experienced our first taste of life, our generation was presented with teachings about the world around us, and we will continue to learn them as we develop in the years immediately ahead. The truth that we can become whatever we choose, was distorted, and some grew up learning that we deserve to have and to do certain things, even if we don't earn the privilege. The idea that we have a right to enjoy the success we work for was often changed to say "you should never have to fail." Excellence was redefined in so many situations that some believe that to excel is not always the result of hard work. We have been taught that we are all winners because we cannot lose, and that if we want or need something, it's not our responsibility to work for it, it's someone else's responsibility to take it and hand it to us. Our generation has sometimes been led to believe that protection from the effects of bad decisions is morally equivalent of women's suffrage and civil rights. If we accept this ideology we will become weak minded, weak bodied, vulnerable, and indecisive. We will not be able to overcome hard times, or even prosper during a climate of stability. Such men can be controlled like sheep. They are supported for their usefulness, and abandoned when they become a liability. If you trap yourself by accepting sustenance from your rulers, you will be easily manipulated to act and live in a certain way.

Some of those who were set up by the previous generation, many who stand as our current leaders and role models believe they can lead you easily in any direction they wish. They believe they have you interpreted and that they have calculated the path before you. But this is not the case if we won't allow it to be.

Break free of the nonsense you have been offered and that you will encounter regularly in academia. Become America's next Greatest Generation. Take your life into your own hands. Resurrect the lessons of our sacred foundation and relearn to trust your own judgment. Teach yourself to work, learn to sacrifice. Don't seek to hide from failure, and don't be afraid to start over again. Conduct yourself with confidence and integrity. Treat every task with equal importance and honor all your commitments. When you help those around you, help them to continue on their own. Expect little from others, expect much from yourself. Do not accept anything that makes you dependent on an outside force. (Except the Lord). Take up the liberties left to us by God and enshrined in the Constitution. Repeal any stifling alterations that have since grown them over, and leave your way unbarred and clear. Decide the direction your life will take and render all your faculties toward it's pursuit. Do these things and nothing shall stand in your way of success or impose lasting defeat upon you.

Thomas Jefferson spoke of these principles, calling them "the bright constellation" that guides us through "age[s] of revolution and reformation." They could not exist save "the wisdom of our sages and [the] blood of our heroes" was spent in their attainment. Their voices echo through the columns of history asking: "How will you prosper the charge we have left you." Come, fellow graduates, let us carry their banner and fight a good fight. So that when our lives and efforts are over, we will have produced an answer worthy of their sacrifice.