About

Laine McKay Norton is 18 years old and a Sophomore at Arizona State University. In hough school, Laine was a company member with the prestigious youth ballet, Ballet Etudes and participated in her school's debate club and newspaper. She has owned a small business since she was 12 years old. She is a student at the Center for Self Governance and enjoys studying human nature and social contracts. Laine has traveled with her father speaking at various conferences and works as a student mentor for Self Government Works. Laine currently resides in Gilbert, Arizona.

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5 Things I've Learned from Divorce

Eight months ago I never thought that I would be in the position that I am today. Today I am attending my dad’s wedding. The past eight months have been a whirlwind of life changing events and emotions. Experiencing my parent’s divorce has been the worst time of my life. I have learned five very important things that although do not take away the pain that I feel, have helped to ease this burden and give me hope. 1. Agency enables us not to make the same mistakes. The idea of agency is sometimes a very hard pill to swallow. Agency is the ability to choose and act for ourselves. The reality of agency is that sometimes people’s choices do hurt others. Agency is essential to our mortal existence, and although we can make choices that hurt others, we can also make choices that bring us closer to Jesus Christ. 2 Nephi 2:27 reads, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh… and they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose ...

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...

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 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 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 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...

Laine McKay Norton

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