A simple memory at a memorial changed the tone of the day: a third-grade classroom with the Golden Rule on the wall, memorized by kids who carried it into adulthood. That image opened a bigger conversation about what we teach our children, how we understand liberty, and why our public institutions should reflect the moral roots that shaped this country.
We walk through the case for centering tax-funded education on the principles that animated the American project—love of neighbor, the dignity of conscience, and the Scriptural wisdom that formed our earliest laws and customs. Along the way, we confront the modern “separation of church and state” narrative that grew after 1947 and contrast it with Jefferson’s original concern about a national church. The goal isn’t coercion at home; it’s clarity in the public square. We also move from civics to the heart, reading 1 Corinthians 7 as a mirror for marriages that need mutual care, prayer, and unity, and noting how strong homes train the same virtues a free people require.
Scripture readings from Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs bring the story into focus: Joseph’s obedience, the Magi’s courage, and the promise that delight in God’s law turns lives into rooted trees. We honor Private Robert D. Booker’s Medal of Honor sacrifice as the hard-earned fruit of formation, not accident, and we revisit Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 Christmas messages, where “love thy neighbor” rises as a national ethic in anxious times. If history is bending toward a rougher season, we can still prepare: strengthen local institutions, equip those who serve, speak up at school boards, and teach the Golden Rule with conviction.
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