State Representative
Arlon Lindner

The United States is a nation founded on written documents and shaped by eloquent speeches. One of the most famous American speeches is George Washington's farewell address to the nation, where he reminded his countrymen that "the name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism..."

Sadly, patriotism is no longer regarded as a "just pride" in America. This is especially true in our schools, where pride of other cultures has replaced pride in our own heritage. Many teachers are pressured by outside voices who tell them what they can and cannot teach students. Some educators think it is illegal to mention God in the classroom. Others teach from textbooks that omit large portions of American history in the name of political correctness.

To correct these misconceptions and give schools more freedom to teach American history, I have joined several state legislators in introducing the "Freedom from Censorship in Minnesota Public Schools Act" (House File 1028). This legislation would encourage all students to read and study America's founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Washington's Farewell Address. It would also prevent schools from restricting instruction of American history because of religious references in those founding documents.

One of the people who testified in support of House File 1028 at a recent hearing was David Barton, president of WallBuilders (an organization dedicated to the restoration of the moral and religious foundation on which America was built). Baron showed the committee several examples of early American textbooks that contained documents and speeches from our founding era such as texts of the Federalist Papers and the first prayer in Congress. The students who were taught from these textbooks were not only required to read these important documents, but many of them memorized all or portions of them. Few of today's textbooks contain these works, and most that do edit out the references to God or religion.

Ronald Reagan once said, "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction." In order for freedom to be passed from one generation to another, today's students need to learn about the principles on which America was founded. The best way to do that is for them to be taught from the original writings and speeches of our founding era. Let the founders and their documents speak for themselves, unfiltered by what revisionist historians or politically correct thought police would have liked them to say.

Abraham Lincoln did not call America "the last best hope of earth" because we have the strongest army or the most shopping malls. The United States is a model for the world because of the ideas expressed in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution equality, individual liberty and personal responsibility. Our students should be able to learn about those American values from their sources the original documents and speeches of our founding era.

If you have further questions or comments on this legislation or other issues, please don't hesitate to contact me. Feel free to write me at 417 State Office Building, 100 Constitution Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55155-1298 My phone number at the State Capitol is 651-296-7806.

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