Ordained minister and former Texas congressional candidate Jack Wyman last week gave a passionate presentation about the challenges our nation faces concerning America’s cultural values, and the work of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge to preserve our country’s moral fiber.
“We too often find ourselves in this country in a cacophony of talking,” said Wyman, who is Vice President for Advancement at Freedoms Foundation, which was founded in 1949 to advance thoughtful, engaged, and patriotic American citizenship. He noted issues like immigration and climate change cause tremendous conflict among citizens and between political parties, and our culture continually is mired in debate. But there still is hope for agreement, he said, based on teaching the next generation about our nation’s past, including the values and ideals expressed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
“The Great American Story has united us as a confident and determined people for 250 years,” said Wyman. This legacy is in danger due to a crisis of civic illiteracy, he noted, adding, “This ignorance is the mortal enemy of freedom.”
The subjects of American history, government and social studies have been diminished or dismissed in our nation’s schools, Wyman continued. Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge fills in those gaps and teaches students what it means to know, serve, and love America.
“We teach students not only about the history of our country, but the meaning and relevance of our past,” Wyman said. The foundation also teaches students how to participate in civic life, how to discuss and debate our constitutional rights, and the power of the free enterprise system, among other subjects.
“Our nation faces critical issues. The most important is deciding what kind of country we are and want to be,” he said, adding that our future survival and the preservation of liberty hinge on this decision. “We must teach our children well,” Wyman stated, in closing. “The future of America and the world depend on it.”
For more information about Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, to find a local chapter, or to start a chapter in your area, visit freedomsfoundation.org.