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"We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident..."

© Joan Archer

How was your Fourth? Mine was okay-we visited some new friends, and enjoyed shooting off a few fireworks. My Beloved One, a/k/a "Officer, I've Never Seen That Man Before In My Life" decided to shoot off a king-sized smoke bomb (an old Army smoke grenade!) in the middle of the street. Well, we really didn't need any NEW friends, did we? At least the husband still speaks to us.

The point of all that hoopla is sometimes lost on us Adults, so I often wonder if the kids are "getting" it at all. Patriotism does seem to be on the rise among us "middle age" types, maybe because we finally looked around and noticed that we have it pretty darned good here, and maybe we should appreciate and take care of this country of ours just a little bit better. Maybe not take so many things for granted.

My own personal "awakening" came when I was first dating The Beloved One. When he found out I was on Welfare, he nearly had a litter of kittens. He could not understand why, in America, I would choose to be part of a Socialist system. Bear in mind, he was born in Germany, and spent a few years in the U.S. Army, mostly stationed in Germany. He was offended by what he saw as my "laziness" and 'ingratitude" for those who had died to make this country free. (Yes, he is a true flag waver!) It was harsh criticism: we nearly broke up, not because of his critical attitude, but because of his inability to deal with me being dependent on "The System". I had been wandering around in a stupor since I had left my ex-husband, sleepwalking through my life. I had not planned, ever, on getting a divorce, I had not planned on anything, and however cruel it seems The Beloved One was being to me, I got ANGRY and I WOKE UP. I got a job, and a few years down the road, we married, I changed my affiliation to Republican, and ever since, I have made it part of my personal duty to point out the advantages we have in this country of ours. In that vein, Government or Social Studies, whatever you like to call it, is one of the most important classes we have in our homeschool.

I have already mentioned my favorite series of books to study the Bill of Rights, so I will skip mentioning that, even though we still use the series extensively. For the rest of this article, I will stick to other forms of information, and in my next column, I will illustrate different activities to make your Government studies more interesting.

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