The Founders' Key

In the span of time since I last posted on this blog, I have hiked the mountains of Colorado, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in California, traveled through the Indiana farmlands, enjoyed the serenity of Michigan lakes, and returned to the hustle and bustle of the Washington, D.C. metro area — my birthplace. Through the array of places I was able to visit, I can see why Katharine Lee Bates penned the poem “America, the Beautiful.” Reflecting on the lyrics of our national hymn, I am reminded that America is not just beautiful for her mountains, waters, and countrysides, but for the heroes who gave their lives to their country for the cause of liberty and justice. As such, it is of essence that we not neglect our foundings but consider the elements involved in the establishment of the United States of America. It is in returning to our nation’s birthing that we can discover how truly blessed is our nation to have the beginnings we had and how far we’ve come since then (not necessarily all in a good way).

With 2012 being a critical election year in the direction our country will be heading, my interest in our country’s founding documents has piqued. In the book, “The Founders’ Key,” author Dr. Larry Arnn (president of Hillsdale College) explains that the connection between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution is both relevant and as necessary for proper government today as it was when the founding fathers instituted the democracy. Between the two documents, we have inspired beauty in the freedom-heralding Declaration of Independence and commanding guidelines in the regulation-setting Constitution. Modern policies have made efforts to divorce the one from the other, upholding the Declaration but ignoring the Constitution. Through real-life examples, the author expressed the ongoing shift towards liberalism as legislators have redefined key elements in the Constitution.

Besides writing a commentary on the Declaration and Constitution and where our country could be headed should we continue to separate ourselves from the original purposes our founding fathers had when creating the governmental system, the author of this book includes a section for further reading at the back highlighting five of the Federalist Papers written by James Madison as well as the complete texts of the Declaration and Constitution. I found this section very helpful for easy cross-referencing the source document to compare phraseology on a particular subject. Overall, I am quite impressed with this book. It was a bit heavy reading to get through at times and took me longer than I would have liked to complete. However, the content is vital to getting our country back on track. Get out there on election day and do your civil duty and VOTE for the candidates who will best uphold the principles this country was founded on!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of “The Founders’ Key” through Book Sneeze, in exchange for my honest review.