I spent all day Monday being a guest speaker at Snohomish High School. My friend Tuck Gionet teaches Economics and Government to high school seniors in all of his five classes. He was gracious enough to allow me to interact with his students as they discussed whether government’s role should be to insure to citizens quality of “opportunity” or “outcome.”
This was the fifth or sixth time for me in Mr. Gionet’s class. It was the first time I spent the day talking about their subject matter rather than focusing on my candidacy for office. My assignment was to work into the discussion my political perspective without actually campaigning. Mr. Gionet and I did not tell the kids in advance too much about my political persuasion, he wanted them to figure out my political point of view based upon my responses to the questions during the discussion. That idea went out the window right away since I couldn’t come up with any applications where government had a role in guaranteeing the outcome of anything.
The students are required to write a paper this week comparing and contrasting the two, declaring a preference for one and then defending the choice. It was clear from the interaction that some had given the assignment some thought already because they asked me good questions. It became clear to the students in every class that I had strong feelings about both sides of the argument.
The most challenging aspect of the day was remembering what part of the subject matter I had discussed with which class. All five classes were doing the same assignment and I wanted to standardize at least a part of my presentation for all of them then launch into the actual discussion with the kids. After you have done your spiel two or three times, you forget whether you shared a particular anecdote that demonstrated a point or not. By the end of the day, my feet were sore, my voice was hoarse and I was really parched. That teaching thing is a tough job!
It’s hard convincing some kids that education is an opportunity rather than a given. We talked about how our state constitution calls for education to be the paramount responsibility of state government. We weren’t so clear about whether it meant the opportunity to get an education or the guarantee that all students would get one. We talked about how some kids put more effort into school work than others and as a result got more out of the experience.
I tried to demonstrate to them that as they get older and encounter choices in their lives the quality of their opportunities will ultimately determine how far they get in life. Most of the kids have so few life experiences they fail to grasp the importance of quality opportunities until they are lost. Many of the kids have been so sheltered from the realities of the world that they already have a sense of entitlement. That distresses me!
In the course of the day, discussions in each class went in a different direction. As a champion for “opportunity” I tried to steer the discussion to the importance of “personal choices” and taking responsibility for them. In a free society, people need the opportunity to choose how hard they are willing to work to achieve a level of success. Government does not have a role in guaranteeing a successful outcome for any segment of society except those individuals with demonstrable handicaps that would prevent them from taking advantage of available opportunities.
The other argument that came up on more than one occasion was the role of government in curtailing opportunity for some when it substantially damaged others. “Ethics” in life and business might be a topic for discussion another day, but Monday the regulatory role of government did not fit with arguments supporting the “opportunities” of capitalism and personal initiative.
No Loss for Words 
The Freedom to Stand for Something
by Steve DanaTHERE IS A QUIET SHIFT TAKING PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY
It doesn’t arrive with headlines or breaking news. It doesn’t come with sirens or speeches. It shows up in smaller ways—in how we speak to one another, in how we honor our commitments, in how we think about right and wrong.
It shows up in what we are willing to tolerate. And perhaps more importantly… in what we are no longer willing to stand for.
So let me ask a simple question. “What happens to a free society when its people no longer believe in the value of self-restraint?”
A SYSTEM BUILT ON CHARACTER
When the founders designed this country, they did something remarkable. They created a system of government built not on control, but on trust. But that trust was not blind. It rested on an assumption—one so obvious to them they didn’t feel the need to spell it out in detail. They assumed the people would be guided by a moral compass.
Not because the government forced them to be. But because they believed it was the right way to live.
They had seen the alternative. They understood that when people cannot govern themselves, someone else eventually steps in to do it for them. And that someone else is rarely gentle.
NO STATE RELIGION… BUT NOT A MORAL VACUUM
There is something else the founders understood, and it is often misunderstood today. They rejected the idea of a state religion. But they did not reject the importance of religion itself. In fact, they believed just the opposite.
They believed faith—particularly the moral teachings that had shaped their culture—was too important to be controlled by government. So, they made a deliberate choice: They would separate church from state… But they would not separate morality from society.
They assumed that the ethical framework shaped largely by the Christian tradition would continue to live in the people—in their homes, in their communities, and in their daily decisions. Government would not enforce it. The people would carry it.
That was the design.
FREEDOM REQUIRES SOMETHING FROM US
We like to talk about freedom as if it is something we possess. Something we inherited. Something we can hold onto simply by defending it from outside threats. But freedom is not self-sustaining. It requires something from us. It requires discipline. It requires restraint. It requires millions of quiet decisions made every day by ordinary people:
These are not acts of government. They are acts of character. And without them, no system—no matter how well designed—can endure.
THE DRIFT WE ARE EXPERIENCING
Today, we are watching what happens when that foundation begins to weaken. We are more connected than ever before, yet we trust each other less. We have more laws than any generation in history, yet compliance feels increasingly optional. We talk constantly about rights, but far less about responsibility. And when something goes wrong, we are more likely to ask: “Can I get away with it?” Rather than: “Is it right?”
That is not a small shift. It is a fundamental one. Because when internal restraint declines, external control begins to rise.
Not because it is desired—but because something must replace what has been lost.
THE WRONG CONVERSATION
In times like these, we are tempted to look outward. To blame institutions. To blame leaders. To blame other cultures or belief systems.
And while there are certainly real challenges in the world around us, that is not where this story begins. A society does not lose its moral footing because of outsiders. It loses it when those inside no longer believe in what they once stood for. That is the harder truth. And it is the one we must face if we are serious about preserving what we have been given.
STANDING FOR SOMETHING – NOT JUST AGAINST SOMETHING
We are very good these days at telling each other what we oppose. We argue. We criticize. We dismantle. But we are less certain about what we are building. And that is where the danger lies. Because if we do not stand for something positive, something enduring, something rooted in principle, something else will fill the void. Something louder. Something more rigid. Something less forgiving.
History has shown us that again and again.
EDUCATION: WHERE THE FUTURE IS DECIDED
If a moral and ethical society is not enforced by government… then where does it come from? The answer is simple. It is taught. It is passed down. It is reinforced over time.
And that makes education—not just schooling, but education in the broadest sense, the most important institution in a free society. Because every generation must be taught what the previous generation believed. Not forced. Not coerced. But taught.
We do not need to hand every child a Bible and require belief. That was never the model. But we do need to teach the lessons that sustained a free people:
These are not just religious ideas. They are civilizational ones. And if we stop teaching them, we should not be surprised when they disappear.
A SOCIETY THAT TEACHES NOTHING, STANDS FOR NOTHING
We have, in many ways, stepped back from teaching moral clarity. Partly out of a desire to avoid offense. Partly out of a belief that values should be entirely personal. But the result is not neutrality, it is confusion. And confusion does not build strong societies. It weakens them.
Because when young people are not given a framework for understanding right and wrong, they will live in a value-free world. They will adopt whatever framework is loudest, most persuasive, or most convenient. And that framework may not support the kind of society we hope to sustain.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT CONTROL
Let’s be clear about something. Teaching moral and ethical behavior is not about control. It is not about forcing belief. It is not about placing a burden on the individual. It is about preserving the very thing that makes freedom possible.
Because when people choose to live by a moral code, they reduce the need for external control. They make room for freedom. They create trust. They build stability.
That is not oppression. That is the foundation of a healthy society.
THE CHOICE BEFORE US
We are at a point in time where we have a choice. We can continue down the path of moral uncertainty, where everything is negotiable and nothing is anchored. Or we can make a conscious decision to stand for something.
To teach it. To model it. To live it.
Not because we are forced to. But because we believe it is right.
THE STANDARD WE SET
In the end, the question is not whether our system still works. It is whether we are willing to meet the standard it requires. A moral and ethical society cannot be legislated into existence. It must be chosen. Individually. Daily. Imperfectly, Yes—but sincerely.
AND THAT IS THE REAL TEST
We can debate policy. We can argue about culture. We can analyze trends and point to problems. But none of it will matter if we lose sight of the foundation beneath it all. A free society does not survive because it is protected. It survives because it is practiced, every day. By people who understand that freedom is not the absence of restraint… But the ability to choose what is right.
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