About Nancy Salvato
Nancy Salvato is the President and Director of Education and the
Constitutional Literacy Program for
BasicsProject.org, a
non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) research and educational
project whose mission is to re-introduce the American public to
the basic elements of our constitutional heritage while
providing non-partisan, fact-based information on relevant
socio-political issues important to our country, specifically
the threats of aggressive Islamofascism and the American Fifth
Column. She serves as a Senior Editor for The New Media Journal.
She received her BA in history from Loyola University and her
M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from National-Louis
University. She is certified to teach in grades K-9 and 6-12
and as a teacher has worked with students in preschool, 1st,
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th,
9th, 11th, and 12th grades. She
has also worked as an adjunct instructor at the graduate school
level. She continues to augment her education and areas of
expertise by taking college courses and participating in a
variety of workshops.
In the
time that has passed since President Obama was elected to and now holds
the presidency of the United States, there has been something of an
ominous and disturbing feel accompanying the media’s portrayal of his
administration. It brings to mind news coverage of third world countries
taken over by a military coup or overrun by a junta or dictatorship
whose next move is to nationalize their industries or indiscriminately
ravage the countryside. There is a one-step removed air about the
reporting that belies the gravity of what is being discussed and makes
each event surreal. There is a resigned quality to the words and to what
is happening to our way of life. Have we forgotten that we live under a
Constitution that provides “We the People” the power to “peacefully
overthrow” those who are elected to hold office? We even have the power
to “non-peacefully overthrow” those elected to power, but we’ve never
had to use this recourse.
"God forbid
we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people
cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will
be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they
misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is
lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty...And what
country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from
time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let
them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon
and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The
tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
– Thomas Jefferson
Instead of resigning ourselves to each move of this administration to
socialize our government, we should be organizing in our communities,
our cities, and our states to formulate action plans to elect
representatives to office who are aligned with our founding principles.
This is no small undertaking because the people who voted President
Obama into power see nothing inherently wrong with the decisions being
made by his administration. Therefore, not only do we need to decide who
is most suited to run for office, but in each constituency, campaigns
must begin now, to ensure that our chosen candidates are elected to
represent us in government.
When the US Constitution was completed, Hamilton, Madison and Jay
understood that they would need to convince the people that it was the
best possible form of government in order to ensure its ratification by
the requisite number of states. To change the minds of the many people
who were satisfied that the Articles of Confederation simply needed
revision and that there was no reason to ratify this new form of
government, they had to hit the ground running. They undertook the
ultimate campaign. All of this required tremendous energy and
organization. They had to explain over and over the rationale behind
each article of the Constitution and rebut every last argument of the
anti-Federalists. In many ways, the resulting Federalist and anti
Federalist papers serve the same role as the “Talmud” does in Jewish
law. These provide an explanation for what was included or not included
in the US Constitution and why. Concurring or dissenting opinions about
Supreme Court Decisions function in much the same way.
There are a number of actions that must occur if we are to influence
those who voted representatives into public office with whose actions we
disagree. We must begin with the basics. The American people need
further education in the rationale behind each word of our Constitution.
Our citizens need to learn about the failures of socialism and other
forms of government. To appreciate the freedoms protected by the US
Constitution, one needs to understand what sovereignty means to the
longevity, power and wealth of our nation. Finally, those who do not
engage politically need to become convinced that by disengaging they are
empowering people whose actions are not necessarily in this country’s
best interests.
The US Constitution is not taught adequately in our nation’s schools.
Part of the reason for this is because our schools do not have enough
time to focus on the basics. Another contributing factor is that people,
places, and events covered in our social studies curriculums are given
equal time even though they did not have equal influence in our
heritage. Furthermore, the Founders and Framers are maligned when they
are examined through 21st century lenses instead of studying them in the
context of their time. Finally, many charged with teaching our heritage
do not have a sufficient grasp of our history to recognize when
curriculum utilized in school districts is missing information or is
skewed ideologically.
While most high schools require one semester of US History, a study of
political science or economics is not mandatory. When these subjects are
offered and required, students are provided an introduction to these
areas of study and do not walk away understanding the complexity of
these areas. Time, money, and knowledge are needed to ensure these
subjects are given adequate coverage. Concerned people with
understanding and money need to find a way to channel funding to
activists who are willing to fight to change what has become the norm in
our schools.
While understanding the how and why of our own governing structure is
crucial to the functioning of our rule of law, it is imperative that we
understand the motivation and agendas inherent in other systems of
government or religious practices. For example, while our Constitution
provides for freedom of religious belief, no religion may have undue
influence over another. State and Federal legislators have put into
place a system of laws which deem what religious practices are allowed
or not permissible. By providing such structure, the government is
charged with preserving and protecting the maximum amount of individual
freedom while at the same time allowing us to live together as one
people, committed to the US Constitution. Religious practices or systems
of government with a mandate to expand their influence are contradictory
to the preservation of our freedoms. We must be vigilant in maintaining
our sovereignty in these areas. Socialism, or redistribution of wealth,
is antithetical to individual freedoms. A global governing structure
undermines our country’s ability to rule ourselves. While some people
are cognizant of these conflicts, they do not understand why they pose a
problem. Others are simply not mindful of what is happening around them
and need to be brought to awareness. Concerned people with understanding
and money need to find a way to channel funding to activists who are
willing to fight to change what is undermining our sovereignty.
The Founders and Framers understood that the success of our government
depended on an educated citizenry. While it is mandatory that our
children attend school so that they can receive an education sufficient
to allow them to function as productive members of society, we stop
short of mandating that citizens young and old receive the surplus of
knowledge necessary to respond adequately to the challenges we face
today. As a result, we’ve allowed those who are supposed to report the
facts to politicize the news. We’ve allowed the regurgitation of talking
points to substitute for legitimate debate of ideas to come to a
consensus of how to respond to challenges. We’ve allowed majority and
minority factions an undue amount of influence instead of working
together to make change on which everyone can agree. Concerned people
with understanding and money need to find a way to channel funding to
activists who are willing to fight to ensure that everyone has the
opportunity to learn the facts separate from the opinions of those
reporting them.
"The top 10 donors [of the top 50 companies and organizations donating
to their elected officials] from 1989 to 2004 have a combined total
contribution of almost $238 million. Of that 10, the donors ranked
1,4,5,6,7 and 8 gave at least 90% of their contributions to the
Democrats, with the donors ranked 9 and 10 giving at least 60% and 70%
of their contributions, respectively, to the Democrats. Roughly
calculated, that equates to just under $230 million of the $238 million
contributed that went to the Democrats, and that is just within the top
10." [1]
Ethics reform pushed by democrats focuses on individual contributions,
likely because those tend to break to the Republicans.
Those who understand that the freedoms protected by the US Constitution
are being usurped by the ideological agenda supported by big money on
the left side of the aisle need funding in order to combat this force.
What I’ve proposed in this piece is an action plan to combat the
usurpation of our individual rights and sovereignty as a nation. We must
act fast.
"One provision [in President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget] that drew
immediate fire is a tax increase on individuals in the top income
bracket, in the form of decreased deductions for charity donations...
"Currently, if someone in the top bracket makes a gift to charity, for
instance, they get a 35 percent write-off. Under Obama's plan, beginning
in 2011, they would get a smaller write-off at the 28 percent rate - a
change that worries charity [and nonprofit] groups."
[2]
While this
isn’t a hard sell for my nonprofit, Basics Project (www.basicsproject.org),
it is a call to action. Basics Project recognizes that there is a direct
correlation between a solid, fact-based understanding of the principles
that founded out great nation and the American public’s capacity to
foment a desire to safeguard the freedoms and liberties afforded us
under our Constitution, the covenant between citizen and government.
As a 501(c)(3) recognized tax-exempt organization, for now,
contributions to Basics Project are tax deductible for federal income
tax purposes, subject to appropriate limitations. Help us achieve our
goals by taking advantage of the tax savings available to you through
your financial support of our organization. You can pay taxes to the
federal government and hope Congress spends it wisely, ("The American
Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009" shows the bill is more payoffs and
pork then stimulus.” [3]) or you can affect that amount by contributing
to Basics Project with a guarantee it is going to help preserve our
American Heritage.
