All the opportunity for self-government through the rule of the people depends on one single factor. That is the ballot box…

The choice is always before them, whether they will be slaves or whether they will be free.

The people of our country are sovereign.  If they do not vote they abdicate that sovereignty, and they may be entirely sure that if they relinquish it other forces will seize it, and if they fail to govern themselves some other power will rise up to govern them. The choice is always before them, whether they will be slaves or whether they will be free.  The only way to be free is to exercise actively and energetically the privileges, and discharge faithfully the duties which make freedom. It is not to be secured by passive resistance.  It is the result of energy and action…

They have no right to say they do not care.

Persons who have the right to vote are trustees for the benefit of their country and their countrymen. They have no right to say they do not care. They must care! They have no right to say that whatever the result of the election they can get along.

They must remember that their country and their countrymen
cannot get along,
cannot remain sound,
cannot preserve its institutions,
cannot protect its citizens,
cannot maintain its place in the world,
unless those who have the right to vote do sustain and do guide the course of public affairs by the thoughtful exercise of that right on election day.

November 3, 1924
Calvin Coolidge
Radio Address

Our Y8 studies include a great deal of citizenship, the principles of which are gleaned from our Term 1 Reading about Publius Valerius (Poplicola) from Plutarch’s Lives, Richard III by Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, by Richard Bolt, The Voyage of the Spanish Armada by David Howarth, and last but not least our daily morning Living Room Liturgy readings from The American Patriot’s Almanac by William Bennett and John T.E. Cribb.  This portion of President Coolidge’s radio address was in our reading for yesterday.  By reading about the selfish foibles and the heart-rending failures, as well as the golden moments of leadership exhibited by previous heads of state of the early Roman Republic, the English Monarchy, the Spanish Empire, and the Presidents and people of United States of America, one gains appreciation for the uniqueness of our Democratic Republic and our responsibility toward it.

The Daughter saw this image of President Calvin Coolidge and said, “Hey! It’s Coulson!” Well, there are lessons to be learned about citizenship from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.** as well.

**Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division.
It was changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate