The primary focus of America Restored is to restore liberty to our society. In order to do this, we must be independent and virtuous ourselves. We cannot rely on others to learn, grow, or work for us. If we rely too much on what others believe or know, then we will be unable to work toward that belief and it will crumble. We, of course, can listen to what others say, but the day for relying on the belief of others is over. If we wish to restore our society to what it used to be, we must be able to confidently say that we have studied, have learned, and now believe it is important for ourselves.

It is true, what Thomas Paine wrote, that “What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.” Sometimes it might seem like too much. Like all the work is simply too hard for something that shows such little result, but liberty truly is celestial and something of such great worth can not be received by such little work. The effort it takes to study it out and learn about it for yourself is worth it.

The act of taking a step all by yourself can seem terrifying , but it is truly necessary if you want to bring about change. There must always be a first: someone who rises for everyone else to follow. At Lexington and Concord, if the few minutemen did not step onto the hill when they were told “the regulars are coming,” the hundreds of support troops would not have had the courage to step up as well. They risked so much but the reward was immeasurable. Just because you act independently of everyone else does not mean you will always be alone. You simply must wait. Learn for yourself and others will follow. Do not simply be a follower when you are completely capable of living and learning for yourself. Plus, when it comes to virtue, you are the one ultimately responsible for how you turn out. So take control, and others will follow your example.

Yours truly,

Publius