Welcome back to our series “Understanding Your Rights.” We’ve already covered the first two amendments. You can find that post here: https://civicsandcitizenship.org/understanding-your-rights-bill-of-rights-1st-2nd-amendments/ Let’s Begin with the Third Amendment The Constitution forbids the government from forcing us to house soldiers without our consent. Here is the text of the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time […]
Power, Control, and Guarding Our Constitution
Power and control are magnets for human beings. Anyone “dialed in” to our world today can see the magnetic attraction in industry, education, media, and politics. Our Founders knew this, so they structured our government with horizontal separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial) and vertical boundaries (local, state, and national government) to keep power from […]
Today’s Protests Have Historical Roots: Echoes of the 1960s
Are today’s protests a harbinger of a return to the 1960s unrest, with its simmering anger and youth hostility? The echoes are undeniable. Are young Americans exporting their discontent, potentially destabilizing the world? The signs are alarming. If the answer to these questions is “yes,” why are we tolerating this? Shouldn’t we have learned from […]
Understanding Your Rights: Bill of Rights, 1st & 2nd Amendments
It’s common sense to know your rights as an American. Yet, how many Americans know the number of rights in the First Amendment? Could you recite your freedoms in the Bill of Rights? Plenty of “man-on-the-street” videos show Americans’ apologetic ignorance, particularly those under 35. Let’s learn or renew our acquaintance with a few fundamental […]
Maximizing Your Tax Returns: A Common-Sense Approach
With all the tax talk going around this week, let’s look at some common-sense tax considerations. Are Tax Refunds Good? First, if you got a big refund, you just loaned the federal government your money for free. Far better to break even or owe a little. What??? That’s right. When your money is in your […]
America’s Spiritual Battle: a Civics Issue Between Good and Evil
You’ve heard it alleged that the USA is engaged in a battle between good and evil, which is known as a spiritual battle. In other words, our country is not about right vs. left, conservative vs. liberal, or this vs. that. It’s all about good vs. evil. This is a civics and citizenship issue, so […]