Janine Turner

All great change in America begins at the dinner table

2010-12-24T05:04:28Z

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table." Ronald Reagan

My friend Peter Roff sent me a book for my birthday, "Ratification - The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788," written by Pauline Maier. I, a revolutionary buff, and founder of "Constituting America," am loving this book.

What captures my attention is something Ms. Maier states in her introduction. She likens the fervor over the Constitutional debate before ratification to today's fervor over the World Series. People were talking about the Constitution and debating the Constitution everywhere - in their homes, local taverns, even women joined the lively, passionate discussion

Do we have passion today for our Republic? Are we willing to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution? Are we engaging our children in the lively debate? Do they know our governmental structure of checks and balances and basic human rights? Do they know how relevant it is to today? Do they know that most of those "old men in tights and wigs" were young men in the 30's? Do they know how they sacrificed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor?

Do they realize that, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction?" Ronald Reagan.

Ignorance of our Constitution is a malady that will kill our country and our children's future. Our founding fathers gave us a great gift - a Republic. It is up to us, "the genius of the people" to keep it alive. If only we had the same passion for our Republic as we do for the World Series or the Super Bowl.

We can no longer afford to be idle.

Thus, I ask you to join Juliette and me in a nation wide adventure. Patriot Clubs. Please join us and start a Patriot Club for your children and your community, even adults. Spread the word in your schools, your churches and through your e-mails and Facebook.

Juliette and I are starting ours this January, or maybe even between December 25 and January 1. We are going to have our Patriot Club meetings once a month. All kids of all ages should join the fun. At the meetings the kids could bake some Revolutionary cookies, play Revolutionary charades, read from the Constitution, (they are available in booklet form on Constituting America's website, http://www.constitutingamerica.org) and discuss 5 ways the Constitution is being utilized today. They may also plan how to join our nation wide, "We the People 9.17 Contest" - scholarships, trips, nationwide publicity - Best poem, artwork, essay, original song, public service announcement, short film and add on best speech for college kids. No one is too young or too old. The meetings may be as simple or scholarly as desired but they must be hip, cool and fun!

I marveled just yesterday at how our Constitution is at work: the Congress repealed, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and then President Obama signed it into law. Yet, he could have vetoed it and it would have gone back to the Congress - the Constitution at work. The Senate ratified President Obama's nuclear arms treaty with Russia. The President negotiated the treaty but the Senate had to approve it - our Constitution at work. And recently, certain parts of the healthcare bill have been declared unconstitutional by courts in a couple of states - our Constitution at work.

There are so many ways to stress with our children how vital the United States Constitution is.

What are your examples? What ideas do you have for the Patriot's Club activities?
Blog with me and let me know. I need ideas and I am going to start planning our exact date. Be sure to get your teenagers to the club! They are almost voting age and we need them. They are the torchbearers of freedom! Ask them what amendment gives them the right to vote - our Constitution at work.

 P.S. Read and Discuss the United States Constitution with your family at the dinner table. Let's put passion back into our political responsibility. World Series, Super Bowl and our Republic! Let's examine how our Republic makes available the liberties to have a World Series and a Super Bowl.

Anxiety at Christmas

2010-12-23T16:40:37Z

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Merry Christmas. In Constituting America's blog, I blogged with essays about the United States Constitution and the Federalist Papers, (They are all archived on the site.)

I am excited about this blog too, however, because I can be more personal. I am going to have my first Podcast in a couple of days as well!

My daughter and I read the bible every day on the way to dance class. It is amazing how hard it is to do this. There always seems to be some pressing issue that supersedes the reading of scripture - phone calls to make, homework to do, etc. (Juliette makes the calls. I won't talk on phone and drive.)

I am always startled by how life's menial details try to derail time with God.
Here's an experiment, try to talk with God when you awaken. Try to stay focused on Him. Try to listen to Him. I heard someone say once that prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to God. It is AMAZING how hard it is for me to stay focused. The day's agenda and "pressing issues" flood my mind and I have to train my mind to go back to God.

Anyway, so Juliette and I take the time to read scripture in the car. We read slowly. I personally love to savor the verses, verse by verse. I have found that if we rush through we miss the message. Juliette texts our family our favorite verse and then we pray.
I have written this verse from I Peter because I believe that the holidays can be hard for all of us in different ways. There is so much pressure - monetarily, physically, emotionally, spiritually. There is anxiety at Christmas. It doesn't come from Christ. It comes from our man-made, self-inflicted pressures, goals and expectations.
Yet, we already have our gift. It is Christ. The best gift of all has already been given to us. Our other gift is that we may cast all of our anxiety onto Him.

To do this, however, I find that I must take the time to actually talk with Him and share my anxieties with Him. Prayer is like an electrical socket. I have to plug into His source of power.

When I read the Bible with my daughter, I hope that I am not just teaching her the importance of a moral compass but also a coping skill. Life is hard. Life has challenges. A way to get help, a way to get guidance, a way to get relief from anxiety is through the reading of God's comfort and through prayer and meditation.

Thus, I wish you an anxiety free, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I celebrate Christmas because of Christ. Christmas is about Christ. It's like Charlie Brown Christmas. Everyone is so involved in the lights and gifts that they forget the true meaning. It takes Charlie Brown and his simple little tree with one ornament to remind his friends what Christmas is really about.

Christ wants us to have peace and to not have fear. How often those words are uttered in the bible, "Do not be afraid." "Peace be with you."

Thus, as we say from our ranch here in Texas, "Peace and Goodwill from Mockingbird Hill."

www.constitutingamerica.org

Anxiety at Christmas

2010-12-23T16:40:37Z

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 Merry Christmas. In Constituting America's blog, I blogged with essays about the United States Constitution and the Federalist Papers, (They are all archived on the site.) I am excited about this blog too, however, because I can be more personal. I am going to have my first Podcast in a couple of days as well! My daughter and I read the bible every day on the way to dance class. It is amazing how hard it is to do this. There always seems to be some pressing issue that supersedes the reading of scripture - phone calls to make, homework to do, etc. (Juliette makes the calls. I won't talk on phone and drive.) I am always startled by how life's menial details try to derail time with God. Here's an experiment, try to talk with God when you awaken. Try to stay focused on Him. Try to listen to Him. I heard someone say once that prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to God. It is AMAZING how hard it is for me to stay focused. The day's agenda and "pressing issues" flood my mind and I have to train my mind to go back to God. Anyway, so Juliette and I take the time to read scripture in the car. We read slowly. I personally love to savor the verses, verse by verse. I have found that if we rush through we miss the message. Juliette texts our family our favorite verse and then we pray. I have written this verse from I Peter because I believe that the holidays can be hard for all of us in different ways. There is so much pressure - monetarily, physically, emotionally, spiritually. There is anxiety at Christmas. It doesn't come from Christ. It comes from our man-made, self-inflicted pressures, goals and expectations. Yet, we already have our gift. It is Christ. The best gift of all has already been given to us. Our other gift is that we may cast all of our anxiety onto Him. To do this, however, I find that I must take the time to actually talk with Him and share my anxieties with Him. Prayer is like an electrical socket. I have to plug into His source of power. When I read the Bible with my daughter, I hope that I am not just teaching her the importance of a moral compass but also a coping skill. Life is hard. Life has challenges. A way to get help, a way to get guidance, a way to get relief from anxiety is through the reading of God's comfort and through prayer and meditation. Thus, I wish you an anxiety free, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I celebrate Christmas because of Christ. Christmas is about Christ. It's like Charlie Brown Christmas. Everyone is so involved in the lights and gifts that they forget the true meaning. It takes Charlie Brown and his simple little tree with one ornament to remind his friends what Christmas is really about. Christ wants us to have peace and to not have fear. How often those words are uttered in the bible, "Do not be afraid." "Peace be with you." Thus, as we say from our ranch here in Texas, "Peace and Goodwill from Mockingbird Hill." www.constitutingamerica.org

America is Good

2010-07-28T06:17:38Z

Howdy from Texas.

"Where is the standard of perfection to be found?"

Alexander Hamilton pragmatically points to the fact in his Federalist Paper No. 65, that no man, no country, no government, no Constitution is perfect.

"Who will undertake to unite the discordant opinions of a whole community, in the same judgment of it; and to prevail upon one conceited projector to renounce his INFALLIBLE criterion for the FALLIBLE criterion of his more CONCEITED NEIGHBOR?"

Is this premise not the kindling that lights the fire of faction and prejudice in not only our government but the people of our country?

Yes, James Madison wrote, "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire." However, faction may be overzealously utilized to the point of destruction.

Alexander Hamilton states,

"Yet it ought not to be forgotten that the demon of faction will, at certain seasons, extend his sceptre over all numerous bodies of men."

Where are we in our country today? To determine that our country be perfect is to beset upon her an unattainable projector and thus a disillusionment. Are not our dogged factions a determination from one conceited party to derail the other conceited party? This conceit becomes a prejudice. Prejudice is the vice of evil. Evil seeks to destroy all good.

And America is good. America may not be perfect but she is good. America may not be without blemish but she is exceptional.

All parties should lay their swords upon the battlefield of propriety and pray for wisdom to unite. A unity based on the foundations of principles lain in our Constitution, principles that give free reign to faction but yield for reflection upon the broader purpose - A Republic that imbues her people with integrity, freedom to speak and seek, rise and fall, succeed and fail at one's own determination. A call of the wild protected by civilized citation.

Diversity is to freedom what unity is to foundation.

Perfection renders failure. Virtue renders victory.

God Bless,

Janine Turner

July 27, 2010

The People's Representative Test

2010-07-21T16:51:21Z

Howdy from mighty hot Texas! As I read Federalist Paper No. 60, I am once again reminded of the importance of checks and balances and the separation of power. If only all Americans were required to read the United States Constitution and the Federalist Papers. How timely they are to our current trials and tribulations and how full of wisdom are their pages.

How can anyone state that the United States Constitution is irrelevant? It is my summation that one can only make such a statement if they lack the education on its principles, power and profundity. Have they read it? The United States Constitution and the corresponding Federalist Papers offer the wake up call that we American citizens need.

Perhaps there should be a prerequisite that all members of Congress, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, etc. take a "People's Representative" test on the principles of the Constitution. Some representatives have a clear, concise understanding of the Constitution; some do not. Thus, before our representatives are allowed to take the oath that they are to, "Preserve, Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States" should they not understand it? Isn't this common sense?

This would be similar to a drivers test. One must take a driver's test, written and literal, before one gets a driver's license. Should not our elected officials, who are going to represent Americans and uphold the basis, the foundation of our country understand, truly understand, the "handbook?" Should we not ask this of them? Would we put our children in a car with a driver who did not know how to drive? We are talking about the future of our country. We are talking about our children's future. An oath to protect the Constitution rings hollow if the oath is based on ignorance.

The 17^th Amendment is a serious flaw in the balance of power. Why would the American people allow such a thing to happen? Interestingly, the only state that did NOT ratify the 17^th Amendment was Utah.

Alexander Hamilton states in Federalist Paper No. 60:

"The collective sense of the state legislatures, can never be influenced by extraneous circumstances of that sort: a consideration which alone ought to satisfy us, that the discrimination apprehended would never be attempted. For what inducement could the senate have to concur in a preference in which itself would not be included?"

He also states:

"As long as this interest prevails in most of that state legislatures, so long it must maintain a correspondent superiority in the national senate, which will generally be a faithful copy of the majorities of those assemblies."

The states lost their power with the 17^th Amendment. The people lost the balance of power necessary to maintain a republic as our founding fathers intended it.

Yet, the genius of the people will still prevail if they base their genius on the founding principles of our country. A learned people will rise to resuscitate their country with a breadth of spirit and passion that warrants wisdom.

Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper No. 60, states the call to action,

"Would they not fear that citizens not less tenacious than conscious of their rights, would flock from the remotest extremes of their respective states to the places of election, to overthrow their tyrants, and to substitute men who would be disposed to avenge the violated majesty of the people."

The majesty of the people. The genius of the people.

Our founding fathers believed in us.

We the people.

Spread the word. Teach your children. Tell your family. Call your friends.

We are the roots of the Live Oak tree. The government represents the branches. The government need not feed us. We nourish the government.

God Bless,

Janine Turner

What Would Our Forefathers Think of America Today?

2010-07-01T07:55:42Z

I have a fantasy. It's fascinating. It's futuristic. It's foretelling.

My fantasy is that our country's forefathers would miraculously appear today in America. I see them walking among us, dressed in velvet coats and knee pants, hair in a pony tails, hats in hand. Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. Alexander Hamilton on Wall Street. John Adams in Boston. Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. And, George Washington in Washington.

I envision it theatrically, of course, with cameras. A panoramic sweep as they turn full circle in awe. What would they think? Would they be proud? Would they be shocked? I, for one, want them desperately to be pleased.

This is an idea that has fascinated me for decades. I can remember asking my father about it when I was nine: "Dad, what would our forefathers think of America if they returned today? About what would they be most disappointed?"

My father, who is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a man of few words, thought for a moment and simply said, "taxes."

What would our forefathers think of us today? I yearn for their wisdom. I believe, if they roamed the halls of Congress together and eavesdropped on the conversations, heard the rancor, felt the division,they would say, or at least Thomas Jefferson would say, "Ah, democracy at work." However, upon further investigation their impressions would sour. They would accurately perceive that the tenor has changed.

During their day, they too differed and fought. They were, at times, wickedly vicious -- but it was for Americans. They believed that God wove an innate promise in human beings and they envisioned the infinite possibilities of the mind and soul if freed from tyrannical government. They ardently loved America. Their purpose was for America to be born, to blossom and to be the hope of mankind. They took pride in their remarkable achievements. They believed that their victory over the British and the success in uniting their fledgling country's passionate diversities as they constructed and ratified the Constitution, were the works of "Divine Providence."

Brilliant and well read as they were, they would quickly surmise the threats to America. Alarmed by the bitter greed, they would stand at the pulpit of Congress and pound the gavel and say, "Awaken Patriots. Awaken your sense of unity! A Congress divided, for the sake of pride, will most certainly fall. A Congress that betrays its constituents, for the sake of party line, will most assuredly falter. A Congress that bloats bills to the point of obscene obscurity will be condemned." They would be astounded by a Congress that does not read its own works and warn, "A Congress that cannot or will not read the bills before they vote, before they represent the American people, will, without fail, lead their country and its people to doom."

When they realize C-SPAN is there, and they would adeptly figure this out, they would look into the camera and warn the American people. They would warn parents that by neglecting to teach their children their rights as embodied in the Constitution as well as the inherent responsibilities of citizenship, they will let America simply slip away. Thomas Jefferson would recount his own words, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." They would warn, "It won't be sudden. It will be insidious. Those who devalue freedom, who underestimate human genius, integrity and industriousness, will cunningly dominate the debate."

Benjamin Franklin would recount his own words, "Think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty." They would say, "By letting Congress bankrupt your country, you most assuredly will lose your freedom, your free will. By letting Congress take away your right to own a gun, you will let a dictator seize your country and your home, because he will encounter no resistance." They would quote Samuel Adams' wisdom, "Be forewarned, the pooling of property and the redistributing of wealth are despotic and unconstitutional."

They would close with biting truths saying, "Without moral values, which should begin in Congress, America will lose her roots, her basis, her thesis." They would echo Paul Revere and cry out, "Stand up, Americans. The challenge is coming! The challenge is coming! Let freedom continue to ring!" They would exit Congress and they would not be downtrodden. A smile would emanate from their faces, for they know the heart of Americans.

2010-06-29T18:04:21Z