Power to the Parents

Marybeth Hicks, columnist for several papers and sites and author of the book Bringing Up Geeks (reviewed here), uses her most recent column in the Washington Times to make a few points on virtues:

Since the government spending train to multigenerational public debt left the station, we began to realize that the future direction of our nation is something we simply can't control. At the rate our federal government is spending and growing, the Republic that Ben Franklin dared us to maintain could be a distant memory by the time our 11-year-old is eligible to vote. Already, Franklin and the other Founders probably wouldn't recognize their grand experiment anyway.

Unfortunately, unlike my husband, muttering and fuming don't make me feel better. So Im focusing on something I can control: the caliber of the citizens being raised in our household.

If you think about it, much of the power among "we the people" rests with "we the parents."

Politics aside, Hicks is making a common sense point that has been lost in our society. There is nothing inherently wrong with most nannies, day care, and even schools, they each serve valid purposes, but the outsourcing of parental duties is not one of them. Proverbs 22:6 famously instructs parents to "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray." Only parents can guide children to resist the urges of peer pressure, the media's "culture of cool," and educational group think by equipping their children with the knowledge of right and wrong, the understanding of virtues, and a disciplined self-determination that will serve them well throughout life.

As a parent, I'm convinced that my best, most vital contribution to this nation will be the four people who learn in my home that their American citizenship is both a blessing and a responsibility; its not meant to be a free ride, but rather the freedom to make the most of themselves.

There may not be much I can do about the ill-conceived government programs that will most assuredly burden our children with an incomprehensible pile of debt, so instead I'm focusing on infusing our nation with civic virtue, delivered in measured doses around the kitchen table. If we don't like the direction our nation is taking, its not enough to just shake our heads and express frustration; we have to train up the folks who one day will lead it.

"We the parents" are a powerful presence, indeed. By teaching our children to have self-discipline, forbearance, humility and honor, to live with moderation and civility and magnanimity, and to value their independence and liberty, we can offer the one and only long-term solution that will reinvigorate the vision of America as it once was: virtuous American citizens.

If our country is to survive and in any way reflect the principles it was founded upon, the coming generations will truly have to do the heavy lifting, both financially and in terms of leadership. And no one can prepare our youth to do so except their parents.