Constitution Alive!
I recently went back to school. Well, sort of. I’m taking a class called Constitution Alive!, A Citizen’s Guide to the Constitution. During my high school days, teachers never did more than mention the Constitution. In college, I majored in political science and studied the philosophy of government, international relations, international law, and economics but, not the Constitution. There are less than 5,000 words in the entire document. I’ve read longer chapters in a book during an evening but, when I graduated from college I had never read this founding document of my country.
Kyle with his copy of the Constitution Alive workbook
Only later did I feel this void in my education and attempt to remedy it. First I found a pocket copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and read them both. Though, as with many subjects, reading about it is only the beginning of understanding. I wanted to dive deeper.
The Founding Fathers knew exactly what they were writing when they pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. As Benjamin Franklin later said, “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” They had started a revolution for freedom and they would need to defeat the greatest superpower of the age or die trying.
While the Founding Fathers did win, today many don’t know or fully understand the freedoms their victory gave to future generations. But, some are working to change that. One such site is the Patriot Academy which offers the Constitution Alive! course. In eleven video sessions, recorded in Independence Hall and at the WallBuilders library, Christian historian David Barton and former Texas legislator Rick Green look back to the writings of the Founding Fathers for their understanding of the Constitution.
The course uses both videos and a workbook as it goes article by article through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Viewers will learn about the powers of Congress and the President, executive orders, the electoral college and what the founders through about freedom of religion. Rick Green presents most of the course and he does it at a fast pace.
Constitution Alive! is presented from a Christian worldview and so would not be welcome in the government schools of today. However, Christian or home schools should find this a valuable resource for their older students. The workbooks and videos are available from the Patriot Academy but, you view the videos on Amazon Prime Video, Fox Nation, and YouTube. There are other classes at Patriot Academy that I will be reviewing in the near future.
Have you taken the course? If so, did you find it useful in understanding the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
