Top 10 Ways to Lead an American Renaissance

“It is a part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate, to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance.” – Thomas Jefferson

No matter how overwhelming our problems may seem, common Americans can make a profound difference.

Here are the top ten most important things that American citizens can do to reverse our decline.

10. Read at least one classic a month.

According to George Wythe University,

“Classics are original works of depth and substance…that engage the student in the great questions of life. Works that have wide application and scope, they offer valuable ideas to a variety of cultures and times, and can be applied to nations as well as communities, families and individuals. These timeless works change us and ask the hard questions that cut to the core of human nature and human institutions.”

Study the nature and anatomy of freedom through classics. Learn what it takes to preserve and promote freedom for yourself and your posterity.

9. Discuss the classics you read with groups of your peers on a regular basis.

Similar groups were formed long before the American Revolution erupted, and they had an integral role in shaping the views and direction of the entire populace. As Margaret Mead said,

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

8. Keep entertainment in proper perspective.

We’re flooded with an infinite variety of ways to divert us from our highest potential and purpose. When entertainment becomes excessive, it prevents us from living the ideals necessary to sustain freedom.

7. Raise a family worth emulating.

Love and serve your family. Be true to your spouse, be kind and inspiring to and patient with your children. Take responsibility for the education of your children.

Build America from the inside out with the solid bricks of family values and relationships.

6. Forgive those who have wronged you. Replace anger and fear with love and peace.

World peace will never be achieved until individuals become conscious of their own contribution to or detraction from that goal.

5. Be a person of integrity.

Keep your word, no matter how difficult, no matter how tempting it may be to follow the crowd and become casual. Do what you say you will do. Live what you say you believe.

4. Be vigilant about how you spend your private time.

As I have written elsewhere,

“The ultimate measure of a person’s integrity is how they act when they are absolutely alone, and what they do when no one else will ever know. It is the quiet moments spent in solitude that determine if you are true to what you say you believe in.”

3. Become a constitutional scholar.

Know the Constitution backward and forward. Study its foundations. Study the works that its creators read.

Learn what habeas corpus, bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws are. Learn what the different branches of government are authorized to do, and prohibited from doing. Know the intended balance between the States and the Federal Government.

2. Live your mission.

Discover, develop, and utilize your natural gifts and abilities — or Soul Purpose. Do what you were born to do, even if it takes quitting your current job. Live the spirit of providence in your life.

In the words of Steve Farber,

“Do what you love in the service of those who love what you do.”

1. Become “One Who Goes Before.”

Becoming Those Who Go Before means that everything we do is designed to lighten the burden of those who follow us. It’s leaving things better than how we found them.

The Renaissance depends on you.