Laine McKay Norton

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America's Scars

I was recently sitting in my World History class at school. My professor asked to show by a raise of hands how many of us students had learned about the Holocaust in high school. Only about half of the class raised their hands. My professor then asked the students why they did not learn about it in high school. The most common answers were “it was too uncomfortable for some students” or “my teacher didn’t want to offend anyone.” This shocked me. Here were adults who had never learned about one of the biggest genocides in all of history. Chairman Mao burnt books in China on Hitler’s and Stalin’s genocides. He did not want the Chinese people to recognize that his regime was very similar to the regimes of those men. He was trying to repeat history undercover. Mao also destroyed any evidence of western government and culture. He did not want the ideas of enlightenment and self-government to spread to his people, causing a rebellion or overthrowing of the government. He d

The 17th Amendment; Killing Dual Federalism

The 17th Amendment enabled the blurring of state boundaries by dissolving the federal separation of powers. When the 17th Amendment was passed at the start of the progressive era in 1913, it started to shift the United States from a dual federalist system to a cooperative federalist system. Progressive era political scientist, Charles Merriam, explained “Under our Federal system there must be a sharing of powers between the national, interstate, and state authorities.” Just like many other politicians and political scientist of the time, Merriam believed that centralization of controls was a way to solve any conflicts that the state governments and federal government had. Prior to the 17th Amendment being passed, there were Senate election deadlocks. Some State Legislatures could not agree on who to send to the Senate, so they only had one Senator. At its worst, elections were deadlocked across 20 states, resulting in 20 vacant seats. The States saw this as a problem; they were alr

What Patriotism Means to Me

I show my patriotism by educating people about what it means to live in a self- governing society. A free country only remains free from oppression and chaos when its people are educated about their system of government. Learning about current American government and history of the United States keeps a culture of self- governance alive. Learning history helps us to preserve liberty in the United States. A patriot is someone who is educated about past events so that he can make informed decisions on current issues. Maximilien Robespierre explained, “The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.” Patriots do not want their people to live under tyranny, so they initiate education of the masses. In the summer of 2017, I spoke at The Young Americans for Liberty national convention in Washington D.C. At this convention, I spoke about the importance of the Constitution and how it is still applicable today. A first step towards

The First Amendment; Five Ways to Freedom

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The Bill of Rights is slowly fading as a relevant document in our society. The five freedoms explained in the First Amendment ensure that the United States is able to remain free from corruption. 1. The Freedom of Religion Not only does the First Amendment protect the Freedom of Religion, but it also protects the separation of church and state. This means that if the First Amendment is repealed, religion could potentially take over as the driving political force of the United States. Thomas Jefferson explained, “religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, &

What is Jefferson's "Rightful Remedy"?

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned one of the greatest documents of freedom of all time, the Declaration of Independence. He states in that document that, “...whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The American Colonies believed that their unalienable rights were being infringed upon and their original system of government was being deteriorated. Jefferson once again wrote about injustice that he saw in the new American Republic in 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and were a response to the unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson wrote, “whenever the [federal] government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no f

A Purpose Driven Education Drives Success

Today, many school classes are taught where a teacher stands in front of the class and rattles off facts for the students to memorize and regurgitate on a test. After the test, the students often forget what they have learned. How successful is teaching to a test? Teaching to a test does not produce successful people. Finland has one of the top education systems in the world. In a recent interview with Finish teachers, the teachers talked about how one of the top 5 reasons why the United States education system has not improved is because of standardized tests. Important information, like civics and debate, get lost because they are not tested in a test. Teaching students how to think does produce successful people. In law schools, students are taught how to think critically about the facts. Students are given a case to study outside of class. In class, the law professors ask hard questions that require students to think critically about the case. There is a reason why this method is

Freedom of Speech or Freedom from Speech?

Most people who live in democratic societies believe that free speech is a basic human right. The freedom of speech dates back to Ancient Greece; it became a fundamental part of the democracy of Athens. “Leaders, philosophers, playwrights and everyday Athenians were free to openly discuss politics and religion…”. In the United States, Freedom of Speech is ensured in the First Amendment. The only speech that is not protected by the First Amendment is child pornography, true threats, defamation, and plagiarism of copyrighted material. 1 This idea of free speech has been cherished by Americans for hundreds of years, but we are in danger of losing it. Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education explained, “A generation is being raised not to believe in freedom of speech but rather that they should have freedom from speech.” 2 Should we ban things that are deemed hateful or hurtful? Safe spaces are "A place where anyone can relax and be fully

Today's Progressive Movement

A poll by Think Progress concluded that 16% of Americans identify as Progressive. This movement is seen as new and modern, when it is really only a reemergence of an old idea-- socialism. Progressive platforms are becoming increasingly popular, because they give a minority an advantage in society. In the late 19th century, politicians started emerging as Progressives. Their platform was to help American society progress in the workplace. The Progressive Movement hit America in 1890 with Teddy Roosevelt, and followed with William Taft and Woodrow Wilson. These men were the faces of the Progressive Movement and stressed government activism, regulation of trusts, improvement of urban sanitation and safety, labor regulation- especially for women and children, and conservation. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders had at one point 45% of electors pledged to him. Sanders pledged tuition- free college and health care for all. He wanted a “political revolution” to reform our so

The Future of America Written by Ancient Ideals

The first recorded use of the term “terror” or “terrorist” was in 1795 during the French Reign of Terror and referred to anti- government activity (Levin). Throughout history, terror has been used to motivate people to change their behavior through fear. Normally in today’s world, terror is referred to as violent actions that are performed by anarchists to decrease faith in the government. Today, usage of the word terrorist has become common place in schools, at home, and in daily conversation. Although solutions to terrorism are controversial, the view of the American people towards terrorists and the United States government’s actions encourage the activity of domestic terrorists. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is a Muslim extremist group that implements Sharia Law. According to the U.S. State Department, there are 45 terrorist groups outside of the United States (Levin). The Islamic State is one of the most publicly known terrorist groups. Since 2006, ISIS aims to create an Islamic