In America, this is a great time to be a patriot. Because Progressives and the Radical Left do not consider the Constitution and the Rule of Law to be sacred, we must. Their disdain for traditional values has provided us with the opportunity to take a strong stand for what we believe. To oppose them effectively, however, we must be steadfast and immovable. It’s the only way to restore our nation to greatness, but being determined isn’t enough.
Equally important, we must have the knowledge necessary to express ourselves confidently and convincingly. This is something many are unable to do. It’s a problem that must be addressed and resolved.
I recognized how serious this issue was, when I walking around the indoor track at the YMCA recently. A young man, who had been jogging, finished his run and cooled down by walking beside me. As we started to chat, I pointed out a much older man ahead of us who was walking slowly. I said to the jogger, “Do you see that man in front of us?”
Looking ahead, he replied, “Yeah.”
“He fought in the Battle of the Bulge,” I said, in an obvious effort to pay tribute of one of the few remaining heroes of World War II.
Without missing a beat, the young man responded, “How much did he lose?”
Instantly, I was aware that my young acquaintance had no idea what the Battle of the Bulge was. He thought the older man had been a TV-show contestant. the Battle of the Bulge was. He thought the older man had been a TV-show contestant.
As I thought about the incident later, I became quite concerned about how Americans—especially millennials—have lost their sense of history. My experience had a surreal aspect to it. It revealed a deep-seated problem in our culture. It became crystal clear to me there are millions of Americans drifting through life unaware of what we, as a nation, believe—unaware of what America is all about. Others have repudiated our heritage all together.
As the days passed, my concern increased, and I began to wonder how this problem could be remedied. A few weeks later, when I was in Nashville, I had a cup of coffee with my friend, David Dunham. Relating the story to him, we began a serious dialog about the huge gap in understanding, which exists among many, concerning what our forefathers believed.
Our conversation turned to how dangerous it is for our republic to have citizens who have such limited awareness of the core values upon which America was established. David turned the conversation to specific ways in which we could make a positive impact upon people like the jogger. We wanted to make fellow patriots aware of our country’s rich heritage—based on our Constitution and other significant documents.
From that initial meeting, we developed a plan to publish We Believe: 30 Days to Understanding Our Heritage. Our goal was to provide a quick, easy way for interested Americans to learn what our Founding Fathers believed. To round it out, we added important documents from subsequent generations—insights that provide texture and value to the Founders’ ideas.
As we developed our concept, we made a commitment to abstain from partisan politics, allowing the documents to speak for themselves. We thought that editorializing would detract from the power and integrity of the Founder’s words. We have allowed the voices of our great leaders to speak for themselves. All we have done is couch what they had to say in historical context.
We Believe is packed with core documents from our heritage, but it can be read quickly and easily. By taking ten minutes a day for thirty days, anybody can understand the values upon which America was founded. More importantly, every reader will learn why these values are critical to our future, which is under attack by those whose beliefs would have been soundly repudiated by our Founders. In the twenty-first century, the United States faces new challenges and new dangers, which once again require an informed citizenry to take a stand for what is right.
To remain strong, we must remain resolute. To remain resolute, we must have convictions. To have convictions, we must know what we believe. To know what we believe, we must return to the original documents. There is no other way. In the nineteenth century, Lord Acton pointed out, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” His words seem more appropriate today than when he first spoke them. We live in perilous times—times which require good men and women to stand firmly against those who hate our way of life and plot our destruction.
We also face dangers from within—from those who no longer accept America’s traditional values as their own. There have always been people like them among us; but their numbers have grown. Now, they threaten to overwhelm us. For decades I’ve heard people warn of impending doom; and like most, I’ve dismissed what they have had to say as ludicrous, conspiratorial nonsense. Now, their warnings of impending disaster don’t seem as far fetched as they once did.
Being ignorant about our heritage is no longer an option. Remaining unaware and complacent carries a heavy price tag. We must be prepared, and We Believe will prime you to stand your ground.
In Holland, before World War II, there were 120,000 Jews. By the end of the war, more than 100,000 had been exterminated. As one young Jewish girl wrote:
On the last day of school, I failed geography.
A week later I found out exactly where Treblinka was.
But only for a week.
America has weathered many storms. We will need to weather many more, but we cannot do so without being vigilant—without being informed. With perils from without and from within, understanding our great tradition is more important than ever. Keeping this in mind, we have created We Believe: 30 days to Understanding Your Heritage. We are certain it will help you become a better-prepared American.
Jack Watts
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