Table of contents for Hands-on Civics Lesson

1. American Civics and Economy (Current)
2. Letter to President Obama – On Life
3. Letter to President Obama – On Climate Change
4. Letter to President Obama – On Education

Mary Catherine - Class of 2013

February 17, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you very much for reading this letter. I respect the fact that you take your time to read the letters of concerned persons and give them some thought. The education provided by public school is a subject that has been on my mind, and I think it needs some improvement. I would like to bring up some of the problems I see and suggest solutions. This is America, and she deserves to be among the best in everything, especially education.

Mr. President, I have heard that there is discussion about imagination classes being taught in public schools. As silly as this is, kids and teens don’t know how to use their imagination because of all of the electronics around them. Schools really can’t teach imagination, but they can certainly give kids an opportunity to use their imaginations by simply not allowing electronics in schools. Then there would be no need for unnecessary subjects such as imagination class! This would also solve other problems, like texting in class, not paying attention to the teachers, sexting (which is illegal, anyway), and other things that would involve a cellphone with a camera and Internet service.
The behavior of teenagers in school is usually very poor. More than a few get away with being disrespectful, arrogant, ditching classes, and swearing. I think that schools need to have a lot more discipline than just getting a little talk from the principal. Discipline is something we all need, especially this generation, in order to ensure the better future of our country.

Mr. President, I don’t know how you feel about sexual education being taught in public schools, but I think that it should be a special parent-child conversation. I strongly oppose Planned Parenthood teaching teens sex and encouraging the use of contraception through the public school system. The effects following abortion and contraception are not even mentioned (women are physically and emotionally damaged by these “procedures”). Not only that, but other useless subjects like evolution and homosexuality cause divisions between children and parents. It is very important for students to have a good and healthy relationships with their parents. I’m sure you, as a parent yourself, want a good relationship with your daughters.

Mr. President, I heard that you are thinking about shutting down private schools and making homeschooling illegal. I think that, by reducing the education competition of our nation, the level of education will decrease. If parents have real options about which schools their kids go to (and a voucher system is a big incentive), then schools will try to meet the parents’ requirements in order to maintain enrollment and this will eventually remedy all the problems I’ve mentioned. Parents know what’s best for their children’s educational future, not the government. My adoptive parents have tried hard to find the right school for me. When I first came to the United States from Russia four years ago, I tried out a public school, but it was the wrong fit for me. Then I was home-schooled for about two years until it was decided that I needed something more. Now, at the age of fifteen, I go to a very small private Catholic school that seems to be a good fit. While my parents are making a big sacrifice by sending me to school miles and states away from them, they know it’s for my own good. And they aren’t the only ones making a sacrifice; the people I am boarding with are also making one. I guess what I’m trying to say is: since your own daughters go to a private school, please don’t take away this opportunity from the rest of the American children.

There are many other issues I’d like to discuss with you, but I do understand that you are a busy man. Please consider handing parents’ jobs back over to them. I think that they should be the ones choosing and monitoring schools for their children, not the government. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Mary C. [last name removed for privacy]

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg.

Representative Richardson sent the following handwritten response (postmarked 3/1/2010):

2/25/10

Dear Mary Catherine,

I appreciate your thoughtful letter. It does seem that cell phones and the various electronic means of communication and activities are taking up more and more time of adults and children. I too [sic] wish that people would spend more time in other ways. I also feel badly that school and teachers do not receive the respect they should from students (and sometimes even the students’ parents!).

Regarding sex education: most children and their parents have a good, trusting relationship and can have questions answered truthfully and thoughtfully. However, some parents are not as open and honest as they ideally should be, and those children need honest, thoughtful information about many issues including sex education.

I do not believe the president is considering shutting down private schools and making homeschooling illegal. I think more and more charter schools are opening for students who have difficulties in learning in the regular public schools. Homeschooling is certainly flourishing in many parts of the country. one of my daughters homeschooled her three children and another neighbor child for a number of years. And homeschooled youngsters have proven very successful in college admittance and careers. I doubt there would be any successful legislation to remove the opportunity for school choice.

You ask about current legislation in New Hampshire. [Kate asked her to support current legislation in the House on this topic, including: HB 1523 (with amendment), HB 1580, CACR 29, and HB1555.] HB 1523, having to do with pupil bullying, is certainly needed. The homeschooling bill (HB 1580) will not, I believe, make any changes in the current system. CACR 29 has already been declared “Inexpedient to Legislate” in committee, so if that position remains when presented to the full House of Representatives, it will not go on to the Senate. I was a co-sponsor of HB 1555, allowing an exemption from immunization for conscientious beliefs. Many, many people came to that public hearing. I certainly hope it passes both the House and the Senate and is signed by the Governor to become law.

I wish you success in your schooling and in your future. It is important to keep an open mind and to be willing to listen to various points of view. Respect for differences is important, in my view.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

Received 4/12/2010

March 25, 2010

Dear Mary:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about public education. I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I believe it is important that our nation’s public schools teach students the knowledge and skills they need to become productive members of our society. I also recognize that parents play a profound role in educating their children and that it is important for their views to be taken into account when a public school’s curriculum is developed. Hence, I understand your concerns about the educational curriculum being taught in your child’s public school.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. As you may know, the federal government does not play a role in developing the educational curricula taught in New Hampshire. Instead, curricula development and implementation are the responsibility of the New Hampshire Department of Education and your local educational agency. Though the federal government does provide some funding to public schools through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) P.L. 107-110), curriculum development is the responsibility of state and local officials. I would encourage you to contact your local education officials to express your concerns about the curriculum at your public school.

That said, I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this important issue. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should legislation regarding this matter come before the Senate for debate.

Again, thank you for contacting my office; I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns. If there are other issues of importance to you, please do not hesitate to get back in touch with me.

Sincerely,

[signed] Judd Gregg

U.S. Senator

Received May 10, 2010

Dear Ms. [name removed],

Thank you for contacting me about public education. I truly appreciate hearing from you, and I am working hard to stand up for New Hampshire’s interests in Congress.

As a parent, I understand the importance of a quality education. I am committed to providing every child with the best education possible so that they can prepare to become productive members of our society.

I commend you for taking an active role in the civic process at such a young age. Contact between citizens and their elected officials is an important part of our democracy. I also appreciate your concern about each student having access to the education system [sic] that is right for him or her. There is no legislation to abolish homeschooling or private schools.

The federal government should help our public education system by increasing funding to provide our teachers with the resources they nee. It is vital that our teachers and children have the support and resources to strengthen our schools, fully fund special education, and modernize our classrooms. Please know that I will continue to support education.

I encourage you to continue to contact me about the issues that are important to you. Please feel free to visit my website [sic] at www.hodes.house.gov where you can share your ideas with me, learn about the services I can provide to you, and sign up for my periodic e-mail updates on what I am doing to help New Hampshire.

Sincerely,

[signed] Paul W. Hodes

Member of Congress

Received June 14, 2010

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

June 9, 2010

Dear Friend,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on education. I appreciate hearing from you. I am committed to providing the best possible education for our Nation’s students because our children deserve it and because, today more than ever, America’s prosperity rests on how well we educate them.

Across the country, we have many great schools and dedicated teachers. We should be proud of these successes, and eager to discover and support what makes them great. We must also realize that not all children get the education they deserve, and many schools need urgent reform to better help our students reach their full potential.

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), my Administration had made a [sic] historic investment toward improving public education and providing greater access to a complete and competitive education for every child. This investment will make high-quality, early learning programs available to more young children. ARRA will also help strengthen the teaching profession by recognizing talented teachers who improve learning and by encouraging them to stay in the schools that need them most. We are committed to exploring innovative approaches that advance teaching and learning through high standards and expectations for all students, and developing meaningful assessments. These steps can ensure our graduates are prepared for success both in their higher education and careers.

A child’s education does not begin and end with a school bell, and responsibility must extend beyond a school’s walls. Our future success depends on a greater level of engagement between parents, communities, and schools on behalf of children. We all share the duty to educate our students, and if we hold them to the highest standard, they will meet them. Please join me online at: www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/education.

Thank you again for writing to me about this important issue.

Sincerely,

[signed or stamped] Barack Obama

Table of contents for Hands-on Civics Lesson

1. American Civics and Economy (Current)
2. Letter to President Obama – On Life
3. Letter to President Obama – On Climate Change
4. Letter to President Obama – On Education

John McCann - Class of 2010

February 11, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

I am a nineteen-year-old citizen who is imploring you to note an issue that is holding back this great nation from reaching our fullest potential. I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say that you look at man-made climate change with scientific consideration. With scientific backing, one can reaffirm that his opinion can be proved; and people who base their opinions off of scientific proof are wise indeed.

The issue that I feel needs noting is that man-made climate change isn’t scientific. Opposed to the popular belief, many reputable scientists state that the amount of carbon created by man’s technology is minute compared to the massive amounts being emitted from the planet’s wild life and oceans (not to mention the fact that carbon doesn’t affect the temperature; the temperature affects the carbon). These facts and other scientific evidence against man-made climate change are stated in Martin Durkin’s “The Great Global Warming Swindle.”

The fact that such a scientifically shaky theory of man-made climate change is getting so much credibility, publicity, and funds is ridiculous. And if this foolishness were going on when we were strong and not twelve trillion dollars in debt, it would be just that foolishness. But, sadly, we are far from being strong; we are twelve trillion dollars in debt and still digging. What I propose is that you revaluate your view on man-made climate change and question the reliability of this “irrefutable scientific evidence.”

I’m sure you can see the folly of this current state of affairs. There is absolutely no reason why we should let these alarmists keep stealing from the people of this great nation by use of fear. You can inform the people of the real impending danger of our economic standing and re-channel the “fear money” that is currently being put toward man-made climate change and put it toward the real threat. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

[signed]
John McCann
15 Morgan Road
Richmond, NH 0347

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg

Received 3/15/10 – A handwritten, handmade card with the following quote from Thomas Jefferson: “In matter of style, swim with the current; in matter of principle, stand like a rock.”

3/13/10

Dear John,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I respect your views on global warming. I am concerned about what is the result of the melting glaciers, etc. in whatever is the way in which these changes are occurring. In any event I do believe our dependence on coal burning plants for much of our energy is not helpful for us and our planet. I hope we will develop more environmental-friendly sources of power.

You sound like a very thoughtful young man and I wish you success in your future.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

Received 4/2010

March 17, 2010

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting my office about climate change legislation. I appreciate hearing from you about this critical issue.

It is time to get America running on clean energy. We have a historic opportunity to transform our economy and become a global leader in clean energy technologies. Reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emitted in our country, in concert with the global community, is the only way we will begin to curb the negative consequences of climate change and drive our transition to a clean energy economy. It is time to act.

Confronting climate change is an environmental and economic imperative for our state. In New Hampshire climate change is already altering the beautiful landscape of our state, and scientists have documented warmer winters with less snowfall and the earlier arrival of spring. As a state where tourism is our second largest industry, we simply can’t afford to lose our ability to offer snowmobiling, hunting and fishing, or our first-rate skiing — a $650 million annual industry alone.

As we consider legislation establishing a clean energy incentive program for our economy, keeping household and business energy costs low is a priority for me. I support a market-based climate program that keeps costs to consumers low, incentivizes clean energy technologies and makes meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. An economy-wide, clean energy incentive program is the best way to achieve significant carbon reductions. Most importantly, this program will drive innovation in American-made clean energy technologies like wind, solar and biomass, creating American jobs and helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The Senate is still working on the details of its energy and climate bill that we hope to bring to the Senate floor later in the year.

New Hampshire is already leading the way in market-based clean energy incentives as a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is a regional effort to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. We must continue to build nationally on the important work of this regional program to restore our global leadership and get America running on clean energy.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and please do not hesitate to contact my office with any future concerns.

Sincerely,

[signed] Jeanne Shaheen

United States Senator

Received April 22, 2010

April 23, 2010

Dear Mr. McCann,

Thank you for contacting me about the scientific evidence of our planet’s changing climate. I truly appreciate hearing from you, and I am working hard to stand up for New Hampshire’s interests in Congress.

Since 2007, when the diverse panel of scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Global Climate Change published their report, countless other peer-reviewed scientific studies have supported their finding that greenhouse gas emissions are warming our planet. In fact, many studies in recent years show that greenhouse gas emissions by humans are warming our planet even faster than what was previously predicted. If we do not take action to prevent the most extreme effects of global warming, the results could be catastrophic to our public health and safety, as well as our global economy.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently completed a detailed scientific analysis, and found that six greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.” More information on this study and finding are available on the EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment.html.

Our nations’ defense and intelligence agencies have also recognized the scientific evidence of global warming, and are taking action to understand the threat it poses to our national security. The Department of Defense will include an assessment of security threats posed by climate change as part of its Quadrennial Defense Review, to be published in 2010. The National Intelligence Council has already issued a series of reports entitled “The Impact of Climate Change to 2030.” These reports can be found at http://www.dni.gov/nic/special_climate2030.html. I hope you find this information useful.

On June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This bill would set a declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions and make significant investments in creating clean, renewable energy in the United States. Transitioning to these new energy sources will cerate new jobs in the U.S. and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. This bill is now awaiting action in the Senate. Please know that I will keep your views in mind as this bill moves through the legislative process.

I encourage you to continue to contact me about the issues that are important to you. Please feel free to visit my website at www.hodes.house.gov where you can share your ideas with me, learn about the services I can provide to you, and sign up for my periodic e-mail updates on what I am doing to help New Hampshire.

Sincerely,

[signed] Paul W. Hodes

Member of Congress

Received 5/3/10

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

April 29, 2010

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing your perspective on global warning. Few challenges facing our Nation are more urgent. The facts are clear, and the science is beyond dispute. We know that we cannot keep burning fossil fuels and adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere without consequence. If left unchecked, our continued dependence on these sources of energy will further weaken our economy and threaten our national security.

We are addressing the climate crisis first and foremost by pursuing a clean energy future that makes our country safer and more prosperous. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act puts Americans to work weatherizing homes and buildings, doubling our supply of renewable energy, and advancing scientific research. My 2010 Budget makes further investments in a clean energy economy that will create good-paying jobs through funding for wind and solar power, advanced biofuels [sic], clean coal, and fuel-efficient cars. In addition, my Administration is pursuing comprehensive legislation to move toward energy independence and prevent the worst consequences of global warming while creating incentives to make clean energy profitable in America.

The response to global warning, however, must be global. Just as we work to reduce our own emissions, we must forge solutions that ensure every country does its part.

Our choices as individuals and as a Nation will ultimately define the world we leave to our children. To learn more about my plan to act boldly on global warning and meet our obligation to future generations, I encourage you to join me online at: www.whitehouse.gov/energy-and-environment. Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

[signed or stamped] Barack Obama

Table of contents for Hands-on Civics Lesson

1. American Civics and Economy (Current)
2. Letter to President Obama – On Life
3. Letter to President Obama – On Climate Change
4. Letter to President Obama – On Education

Cecilia Bryan - Class of 2012

February 10, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

I am an American girl and a citizen, who, like you, believes our country is wonderful. I also feel that it needs some changes. I really respect the fact that you are a president who believes in being a man of the people, and you want to make America better for future generations. Mr. President, this is a serious something I’ve had on my mind almost everyday, which involves the future of our country, and me personally as a teenager. I would sincerely appreciate it if you would be willing to give it some thought.

Are you glad to be alive? I am glad my parents made the decision, seemingly uncommon today, that I was worth something, or good enough to keep. “If we are alive, we can change things.”1 Abortion is a decisive refusal to let all those babies have a chance to life, to change things.

A baby’s life starts at conception, when the sperm cell fertilizes the egg, and, when this occurs, this tiny human’s hair, eye, and skin color, their gender, facial features, intelligence and personality are all present within their genetic code. Implantation usually happens five to seven days after conception. By the seventh week, all pain sensors are in place, the baby can feel pain, and will try to avoid it. By two months, all the organs are present and functioning. All nine months are devoted to the growth and development of this little miracle’s body. I believe that the unborn deserve the same rights that belong to the humans visible to the naked eye.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
➢Equality: You and every other American want equal rights, so please change America’s present policy, and give them to the helpless, unborn babies, who can’t even fight for them.
➢Unalienable: This means, as I’m sure you know, that their rights can’t be taken away. Contained within this is the fact that abortion takes away a baby’s rights, especially those pertaining to their right to life.
➢Life: Abortions (I’m sure you know the many types and procedures) end life.
➢Liberty: Liberty is the freedom to do the right thing. We, as a country, are killing millions of babies a year, and all the while American couples are adopting foreign babies. I think this is an irony that needs consideration. Maybe, if a mother cannot keep her own child, a qualified American family could adopt the baby. Then the baby would have the liberty to live and the mother could be free from the guilt and trauma accompanying an abortion.
➢Pursuit of Happiness: Abortion not only doesn’t give the babies a chance to pursue happiness, but the women suffer mentally and physically from it.

Sir, as a Christian, I’m sure you believe in the truth of the Bible. There is a commandment that God gave to man: “Thou shalt not kill.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines “kill”as: “1.a. to put to death; slay. b. to deprive of life.” Murder is defined as, “1. The unlawful killing of one human being by another, especially with malice aforethought.” I think, after thoughtful consideration, one will come to the realization that abortion kills babies.

I have eleven beautiful nieces and nephews, and one on the way. I can’t imagine, now that I’ve seen and held and played with most of them, that their parents could even think about killing them. Mr. President, you have two gorgeous daughters. You have lived with them for more than seven years. If you could go back in time, do you honestly think you would (or could) slaughter them by abortion?

Mr. President, I’m a fourteen year old girl, and I ask you on behalf of all the people of my generation, to please end abortion in this country. You swore, Sir, to uphold the Constitution, and defend it against foreign and domestic enemies. Abortion is an enemy of our country. It has changed for the worst our country’s outlook on the respect shown to human life. It is annihilating the babies which would make our beautiful country flourish and continue to be “The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave”. Mr. President, please do the duty you swore before God to perform, change the course we as a country are set on, and end abortion now.

Respectfully yours,
Cecilia Bryan

1) (my italics added) from movie “I Am David”

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg.

Received 3/3/10 – handwritten (with a pamphlet entitled “Steps Toward Inner Peace” by Peace Pilgrim):

2/24/10

Dear Cecilia Bryan,

Thank you for your letter. I am a pacifist, believing that disputes between nations should and can be settled peacefully; opposing war or violence as a means of resolving disputes and refusing to participate in military action. Many years ago I met Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked across the country many times — more than 25,000 miles — spreading her message: “This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” She wore a tunic with pockets that contained her only possessions. I’m enclosing a pamphlet put out by her friends that describes her travels and beliefs. She was an amazing person who accomplished much good. As the result of meeting her I extended my pacifism to include animals and became a vegetarian, eating no meat or fish. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 50 years. However, I do not expect nor do I pressure anyone else to become a vegetarian. Regarding abortion — I personally would not choose to have one but I believe that choice is up to each woman and her physician, depending upon individual decisions and circumstances. Adoption is a wonderful way for children to be cared for in the event their own parents cannot properly care for them. I am a social worker who has worked with children who were abused and neglected and were placed in foster care until their parents could improve conditions so they could be reunited as a family, or if that was not possible the children could be adopted. It is fine to help a woman through her pregnancy but then it is important to follow through and be sure she has sufficient help to care for her child in an appropriate and caring way.  Some parents, unfortunately, are unable to raise and care for their children. If society provided the proper resources for families — jobs at living wages, appropriate services to deal with mental illness, substance abuse and other difficulties, children would have a better chance at growing up as happy, productive persons.

I believe each of us has our personal beliefs and way of life, but I do not believe we must expect everyone to believe and act as we do.

I wish you well in your life and trust you are open to listening to people who do not necessarily believe as you do.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

Received 3/4/10

Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2904

March 2, 2010

Dear Miss Bryan:

Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts and concerns regarding abortion. I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I do not support abortion. Abortion is the taking of a life, and, as such, I would oppose any legislative attempts to ensure abortion on demand. As Governor, I vetoed legislation that would have dramatically liberalized New Hampshire law governing abortion. As United States Senator, I will continue to oppose attempts to make abortion widely available.

Again, thank you for contacting my office; I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns. If there are other issues of importance to you, please do not hesitate to get back in touch with me.

Sincerely,

[signed] Judd Gregg

JG/dh

Received 3/10/10

Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2906

February 25, 2010

Dear Cecilia,

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office regarding public funding of reproductive health care. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue.

In 1976, Congress passed a law called the Hyde Amendment, which, in general, prohibits Medicaid from covering abortion services as part of the comprehensive health care provided to low-income people by the federal government. In addition to low-income women receiving Medicaid, the Hyde Amendment denies access to federally funded abortions for multiple other groups, including federal employees and their dependents, Native Americans, low-income residents of Washington, DC, military personnel and their dependents, and disabled women receiving Medicare.

I support a repeal of the Hyde Amendment as a crucial step toward ensuring equal access to health care for all women. Bans on abortion funding for low-income women are discriminatory and have dangerous public health implications. While the Hyde Amendment makes exception for lifesaving abortions, women with non-fatal cancers, diabetes, heart conditions or other serious medical risks are denied coverage despite having had the legal right to abortion for over thirty years. In addition, many Medicaid-eligible women are forced to postpone their abortions until late in their pregnancies or seek self-induced or illegal abortions, further jeopardizing their health.

The decision to end a pregnancy is a complicated and deeply personal choice for many women. While I strongly support efforts to reduce the number of abortions, I also believe that each woman must be trusted to make the right decision for herself and her family. Please know that as we debate health care reform, I am committed to preserving access to reproductive health care services for all women.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and please do not hesitate to contact my office with any future concerns.

Sincerely,

[signed] Jeanne Shaheen

Received 3/11/10

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

March 8, 2010

Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views on abortion. This is a heart-wrenching issue, and I appreciate your input and thoughts.

I am committed to making my Administration the most open and transparent in history, and part of delivering on that promise is hearing from people like you. I take seriously your opinions and respect your point of view on this issue. Please know that your concerns will be on my mind in the days ahead.

Thank you again for writing. I encourage you to visit WhiteHouse.gov to learn more about my Administration or to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,

[signed or stamped] Barack Obama

Received April 26, 2010

April 22, 2010

Dear Ms. Bryan,

Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts about a woman’s right to choose. I truly appreciate hearing from you, and I am working hard to stand up for New Hampshire’s interests in Congress.

I know that the issue of abortion is one that engenders very strong emotion from both its supporters and opponents. Whether or not to have an abortion is an extremely intimate decision that speaks to a woman’s conscience. I do not assume that passing judgment on a woman who has made this difficult choice is my responsibility as a person or as a legislator. Choosing to have an abortion is a difficult enough decision for any woman. Government should respect a woman’s right to choose. That said, I believe abortion should be safe, legal and rare. One way to cut down on the number of abortions is to place a very strong emphasis on comprehensive education and pregnancy prevention. As a society, we can demonstrate family values by truly valuing and supporting families.

A woman’s choice to have an abortion is a freedom, which is protected by the Constitution of the United Stated. I believe in a woman’s right to make this very personal choice in consultation with her physician, based on her individual circumstances and beliefs, and oppose any efforts to weaken that right.

I encourage you to continue to contact me about issues that are important to you. Please feel free to visit my website [sic] at www.hodes.house.gov where you can share your ideas with me, learn about the services I can provide to you, and sign up for my periodic email updates on what I am doing to help New Hampshire.

Sincerely,

[signed] Paul W. Hodes

Member of Congress

Mr. John F. McManus

By John F. McManus

[Mr. McManus has an amazing background in the Marines, engineering, and public relations. He has been the president of the John Birch Society since 1991 -- as well as a friend of the Center and Third Order member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary since the 1970's. ]

Thank you, Sister, for the invitation.  Thank you, Brother Francis, Brother Andre Marie and all of you for keeping this place going, this oasis in the vast desert that surrounds us.

(Here he told a joke about the burglars who were interrupted in their thievery by a parrot.)

Burglars are stealing our country. Some are trying to steal our Church. We must not let either happen.

I’m delighted be here at this graduation. Right here we have a rather amazing young man in Michael Bryan. He has led his class in everything. Of all the graduates assembled here today, he is tops in science, in math, in literature, and in religious studies. There is no prize for the class of 2009 that he hasn’t won. Good for you, Michael!

What can I say to someone who is graduating from High School? Especially what can I say to a young person who is entering adulthood at a time when our nation is in deep trouble and in being controlled by men and women who, I believe, intend to make things worse? What to say to this young man who knows that the Church he loves is beset with enemies – even enemies from within?

What needs to be said is that God exists, and He wants everyone of us to save his soul and to be happy with Him forever in heaven. And to help us attain that end, God infused our souls at Baptism with the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.

Much is said about Faith. In the Act of Faith, we express our belief in God, in the Trinity, in the saving act of Christ’s life and death, and in all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches. In other words, if the Church speaks authoritatively, that’s it. And this is well understood. This is our Faith.

Regarding the virtue of Charity, we express our love of God and our neighbor, forgive those who have injured us, and ask pardon of anyone we have injured. This, too, is well understood.

But what about the third of the three virtues we receive at Baptism? What about Hope? It is almost the forgotten virtue. But it should never be forgotten. The prayer known as the Act of Hope points the “hope” we should all have that through God’s mercy, promises, and graces, we can get to heaven.

I have always found it somewhat surprising that in the beginning prayers at Mass (Psalm 42), the prayers said at the foot of the altar, it is the altar server who tells the priest “Spera in Deo,” which of course means “Hope in God.” I guess the church knew that every priest needed to be reminded even by the boy serving his Mass that he should never cease hoping

St. Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Romans (8:24), “For we are saved by hope.” He immediately adds, “But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for?” In other words, if you have already seen and gained that which you hoped to gain, there is no more need for hope. This, of course, is a false view of hope. We can only hope for what we don’t yet have.

Consider this truth when you are accosted by someone who proudly but incorrectly claims that he has already been saved. He sees no reason for hope; he ignores what St. Paul has told us. He needs your help to know the Catholic attitude about hope, the true attitude.

I have frequently been accosted by someone claiming proudly to be a Christian. I am asked if I have been saved. My answer has always been, “I don’t know yet.” The questioner is usually somewhat stunned but then immediately concludes that I’m a Catholic. If he or she is willing to listen, I will say, “And you really don’t know whether or not you’ve been saved – yet.” Someone who believes that he has already been saved essentially denies free will and has no need of hope. But we all know that while we can be in the state of grace, we still have the capability of “blowing it,” of sinning and losing the state of grace. Let us all hope that we never do so.

It is perfectly proper – and well advised – to confidently expect that, with God’s help, we can reach heaven.  In fact, the object of hope is precisely that – achieving heaven. And it is also true that hope is necessary to achieve salvation. For without this theological virtue, we end up presuming on God.  I believe that to be sinful and dangerous.

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is the story of the wedding feast at Cana. It was Christ’s first public miracle. I’m sure everyone here knows what happened. But the lesson that I find in the recounting if this miracle isn’t usually stressed. Recall that the Blessed Mother went to Jesus and told Him that the host at the wedding celebration had run out of wine. She immediately told the attendants to do whatever Christ asked of them.

He pointed to several large urns and He told the men to fill them with water. They did so immediately. Then, he changed the water to wine. Also, he told the men to bring a sample to their superior.

What’s the lesson? It seems to me that Christ could have immediately filled the urns with wine. But he wanted the men to do everything they could do up to the point they could do no more. Then, he changed the water to wine.

This is what God wants of us – to do all we can up to the point we can’t do more – and then ask His help.

We must not presume on God. Presumption is a direct opposite of hope. And hope requires that we first believe that graces flood the earth, accept the graces, and then act as we should in any circumstance by doing our part to do good, avoid evil, and save our soul.

What about hoping for a secondary good, something other than attainment of heaven? Can we properly hope for things in the temporal order? The answer, according to the theologians, is yes indeed. But only if the things we hope for are means to reach the supreme end of human life – salvation. We can hope for a decent job, hope for peace in the world, hope for safety when in a dangerous situation, etc. We can even hope that the graduation speaker will soon finish his time at the podium!

If we hope for a decent job that will enable us to raise a family, we must take the steps to be prepared to be hired, or to start our own business. We can’t logically or legitimately presume on an employer, or on the public. We certainly should never presume of God.

It is true that Faith without works is dead. It is also true that hope with preparation is absurd.

Like faith and charity, hope is necessary for salvation. An infant receives the virtue (the technical term is that the virtue is infused) at Baptism. But hope can be lost through despair and, as already mentioned, through presumption. We who have the good fortune to have accepted the Catholic faith don’t give up; and we don’t presume. We don’t lose hope.

Can you imagine anyone saying, “Dear Lord, the world is a mess, even getting worse almost daily?  I beg of you, change things.” How absurd! How sinful!

Maybe you’ve heard about the man who prayed daily that he might win the lottery. Day after day, he stormed heaven, “Lord help me win the lottery. I’ll do good deeds with the money if you’ll help me win.” Finally one day, there was a clap of thunder and a voice from heaven said, “First, you have to buy a ticket.”

We hope that the crime of abortion will be terminated. But do we do everything possible to bring this about? Do we elect to right officials who will choose the right justices? Do we inform our congressmen that they have the power to remove the matter from the jurisdiction of the courts? Or do we leave the matter to God alone?

We hope that the Pope will direct the bishops of the world to join with him on a selected day to jointly consecrate Russia to the immaculate heart of Mary. But do we pray our rosaries for this intention? Do we write to the Pope and to the bishops about this request of Our Lady? Or do we leave the matter to God alone?

We hope that our nation will pull out of the current economic slowdown so that jobs will be available and our nation can remain independent. But do we do what can be done by us to get our leaders to reverse course and cease spending our nation into destruction? Or do we again rely on God alone?

Faith can be lost. Charity can be lost. So, too, can hope be lost. Don’t let it happen.   Always remember that the final object of hope is seeing God for all eternity. He will continue to send the graces we need so that, some day, we might meet Him face-to-face, a happy event that we can indeed hope to achieve.

So I say to you, Michael Bryan, congratulations and God speed. Maybe you will take with you a favorite phrase I use.  In Latin, it is: “Dum spiro, spero.” It means simply, “While I breathe, I hope.” Don’t ever give up hope.

Let me close with the very short Act of Hope that I suspect many here know very well. Anyone who wishes to do so, please join with me.

“O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to attain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.  Amen.”

Thank you for the honor of having me here. I wish I could come more often.

May God be with you, Michael. Congratulations and God speed in all your endeavors.  Let us hope that we will meet soon again, and then some day in heaven.

Sursum Corda Society in the Rosary Chapel in Saint Philomena's Convent

On Palm Sunday, Sister Marie Therese presided over a lovely little ceremony in the chapel of our new convent. Over a year ago, the Sisters started a prayer society for the young ladies in our community: the Sursum Corda Society. After a winnowing process, two young ladies renewed their promises, two more were re-instated, and a fifth was received for the first time. The purpose of the Society is simple: to bring about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, in the hearts of the girls themselves and those of their families, in the hearts of the religious, and then in the hearts of the laity at Saint Benedict Center. The girls, after making their Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, promise to say the Rosary (with meditations) and other prayers daily, make daily sacrifices, wear the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal, read certain books, and attend monthly meetings.

Each girl answered Sister's interrogation . . .

. . . Made a promise to Our Lady . . .

As members of the Society, they are given a large Miraculous Medal on a blue cord (which they are even allowed to wear with their school uniform!). We have seen so many blessings attend our community as a result of the prayers and faithfulness of these young ladies. Sursum corda! Habemus ad Dominum!

. . . Signed that promise . . . Received her medal . . .

After the ceremony, the girls were given the updated handbook.

With joy and laughter!

Brides of Christ

The Sisters in their new black veils after Holy Communion

Please rejoice with us over the first vows of two of our Sisters: Sister Maria Rosaria and Sister Marie Gabrielle. They made their professions on March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation), taking vows for three years as Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Semper Deo gratias et Mariae!

(A special thank you to Carolyn Kamuda for her lovely photography. She took many more pictures than these two. A link to the other images has been sent to our Friends and Benefactors. If you are not on our Friends & Benefactors email list and would like to be, please send me an email through the Contact Us link at right.)

Student compositions

Walking down the school hallway this week, a new bulletin board display caught my attention. Mrs. DeLalla’s Third and Fourth Grade students had written patriotic paragraphs (February 2009). The children’s outlook was so dear; I thought you might enjoy these paragraphs, too.

I love America because it has the greatest stores and the best schools. I live in New Hampshire and it has the best sliding hills ever, not like Kansas where it has tons of tornadoes.

I am glad to be an American because you can do things without the government pushing in. I know it is a good country because you can practice your own religion freely. I love America.

America is the best country because there is healthy food and very warm clothes. My favorite thing in America is our town of Richmond. This little town has a good Catholic school and nice Sisters. This is why America is the best country ever. I like America. Do you?

Today I'm going to write about my own country, America. I think it's nice to live here because it has a nice school and a very nice little town called Richmond, where I live. I love America although it isn't perfect. But I will always be happy to be an American.

I am glad to be an American because we are free. And it is a mighty, good, and caring nation. As a good nation, we help people who are in need. I like all the stores and neat places around us such as parks, skyscrapers, factories and etc. I love my country because of the nice smell of meadows and the hills flourishing in green. The nice blue sky and sun so bright and beautiful make me feel good. It is the best country in the world.

I like America because it has more freedom. It is not ruled by a king like England. It has nice houses and valleys. It has the best mountains in the world. That is why I like America.

I am proud to be an American because we have good schools and are able to get a great education. Our military has happy strong soldiers to fight for the rights of our freedom. We have good homes in our towns and cities. These are just a few of many reasons why I am proud to be an American.

October 14th, 2008

[Editor's note: I thought that this article by Mr. Potter, originally published on Catholicism.org, was a very pertinent and readable discussion of happiness and culture. As you may remember from our definitions, our work as educators is to transmit culture. What culture do we want to transmit? Mr. Potter has some insights here.]

All Americans know that the pursuit of happiness, like life and liberty, is an “unalienable right”. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, edited by Benjamin Franklin and famously approved by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, says so.

The U.S. history they are taught as schoolchildren persuading them that the Declaration sprang full-blown direct from the genius of Jefferson, what most Americans do not understand, especially “conservatives” who want to imagine there was something Christian about the republic’s founding, is that the document’s guiding ideas and much of its language were lifted from the English Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (1632-1714), whose thought as much as anyone’s gave rise to the philosophy (and hence the politics) of liberalism. This was recognized by delegates to the Continental Congress and acknowledged by Jefferson at the time.

Of course Jefferson did not copy Locke word-for-word. Writers “borrowing” from other writers seldom are as blatantly plagiarist as that. Thus where Locke had written “life, liberty, and property,” Jefferson wrote “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. However, delegates to the Continental Congress, most of them as influenced by Locke as was Jefferson (whether or not they actually read him) had “property” in mind when they voted approval of the Declaration.

That sense of the phrase is completely lost today. As far as that goes, judging from their behavior, the notion of pursuit has collapsed into that of attainment for most Americans. They act as if they have a “right” by birth not simply to seek happiness, but to have it now, and not happiness in the lofty Aristotelian understanding of it inherited by Christians after St. Thomas Aquinas baptized the philosophy of the great Greek. That is happiness understood as the pleasure which arises from activity in accordance with virtue, of feeling one’s powers operate at a high level. Happiness like that comes close to being joy or even ecstasy and when it is that intense can have a painful edge, painful if only because we know even as we experience it that it is a “high” we shall not be able to sustain for long – virtue in the ancient sense involving as it does excellence, which is always difficult and rare.

If not that kind, what is the happiness desired by most Americans – all, really, apart from the remaining Christians – and whose absence, however fleeting, will be as disturbing to them as the deprivation of any of their other presumed “rights”? The word that comes most readily to mind for describing it is contentedness. It is the emotional equivalent of being comfortable physically. In fact, it is so shallow as a feeling it depends on that comfort. Turn off his air-conditioning, make him walk instead of ride in a car, force him to sit in an unpadded chair or tell him he cannot take a hot shower for three days, and you will have an unhappy American.

Air-conditioners, cars, chairs, hot showers – these are all things. That things are integral to our happiness is what makes us a nation of consumers. That consumption rather than production has become the basis of the national economy would be evil enough from a social and political point of view. However, such materialism also leads to profoundly immoral, if perfectly legal, acts, as when a married couple will kill a preborn baby by abortion because his birth could jeopardize their acquisition of a new gas-saving vehicle, a time-share at the beach, the latest wrinkle in electronic home-entertainment technology or some other thing they feel necessary to their happiness. In other words, their conviction that they have a “right” to happiness is so certain, they will go so far as to deny to their own offspring that other “unalienable” one, life itself.

If the generality of Americans will not easily abide physical discomfort, neither can they bear pain in their emotional life. We could simply observe on this score that they cannot because the pain, like physical discomfort, would interfere with their happiness, with their being content, but that is too obvious to merit noting – as also that it is why happiness as understood by Aristotle and Christians since St. Thomas is not attractive to them. We could also observe, if we were speaking of art and culture, that out of pain and its sister feelings of grief and sorrow, or any emotional suffering, or simply the melancholic state, some of the world’s greatest poetry, music and painting have been produced, but Americans are notoriously indifferent to the arts, so why bother? However, there is a consequence of the “pursuit of happiness” as the end-all, be-all of life that interests us. That is because it is one of the defining traits of our character as a people, regardless of ethnic background and though it usually goes unacknowledged.

Despite feminism’s imperatives, the traits that still get celebrated are masculine: rugged, individualistic, go-getting, capable (as in “American know-how”). There is this other one, however. It is born of the feeling we are likely to have, however determined we are to be happy, of a certain incompleteness, of feeling “unfulfilled” as the expression goes, if happy is all we are. The Christian recognizes that the feeling arises from the soul’s yearnings for a life beyond the one we have on earth and all it can offer, including happiness. To wit, life in Heaven. It is natural to yearn for Heaven, as for home when we are far from it. Of course Heaven is conceived nowadays by most, including many who call themselves Christian, as scarcely more than a place – perhaps a pleasant garden – where their contentedness can never be disrupted.

In any event, yearning for something beyond happiness, but unwilling to expose themselves to the possibility of much else, Americans become sentimental, especially when it comes to emotions that are strong when truly felt: love, sorrow, grief, anything resembling the pain they cannot bear, but also exaltation of the sort a hero might feel even in sacrifice. They wind up experiencing these emotions much diluted or vicariously, as maybe by watching a movie on the Lifetime Channel or hailing as heroic any cop, fireman or soldier in Iraq simply doing his job.

What needs to be grasped here is that it is wrong to think, as many do, that sentimentality consists of extreme emotion. In truth, the sentimentalist suffers from an absence of emotion. Instead of to the depth of his heart, he feels with his fingertips. He does not feel strongly enough for his emotion to propel him into action or truly to commit himself to anything. He will be in love, but not get around to proposing, or if he does will quit the marriage half the time (the national divorce rate is fifty percent). He may be sorrowful over an action he has performed or about some condition of society, but not enough to reform himself or do what he can to change the condition. A couple may grieve over having to put down a pet, but will congratulate themselves that thanks to the measures they take to prevent life (otherwise they might have “too many” children) they can take a vacation in Hawaii. What it all comes to is this: the pursuit of happiness has made us Americans, as a people, a nation of sentimentalists (as well as consumers).

Being emotionally shallow in that way can have frightful repercussions. For instance, we are accustomed to public figures, wrapping themselves in the flag, voicing sorrow over the 4,100 American military who have died in Iraq, but when did you last hear reference to the 100,000-120,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the U.S. invaded their country? The number means nothing to us. Our feelings don’t extend that far.

There will be other repercussions in the future. Think in terms of historical accomplishments. Think, for example, of the Spanish. There were plunderers among the conquistadores, but the lasting achievement of the Spanish was the spread of Christian civilization throughout the world, including to both continents of our Hemisphere. For what will today’s U.S. be remembered? For what else but planting, not the Cross, but a Wal-Mart and McDonald’s on every shore?

Perhaps our sentimentality is seen no more strikingly these days than in the way we continue to wallow in 9/11 seven years later. Yes, the events of 9/11 caused a great deal of genuine fear at the time, and that fear is still apparently felt by many even if they live nowhere near a likely terrorist target. It remains, few of us knew anyone killed on 9/11, we personally witnessed none of the horrors except through the medium of television, life for most was soon back to what it was except for the increased security measures at airports. It was all very remote from our personal lives. Yet we continue to wallow. Why? It is because as remote as we were from the actual events (indeed, because we were remote) they provided the most intense emotional experience the majority of Americans have had, and rerunning all of it in their heads periodically gives them the opportunity to feel emotions like grief and sorrow at no real personal cost, not in terms of recalling any loss of their own, not in terms of it disturbing their general contentedness. This is why sentiment is aptly described as unearned emotion. You get to feel the grief and sorrow without having to pay a price, something like feeling the thrill of “danger” on a Disneyland ride where there is no real risk or having a “wilderness experience” in the controlled environment of a national park campsite.

Real happiness – not the bliss of Heaven but happiness in this world that is somewhat more than mere contentedness – also has to be earned. Three things are required for it: a clear conscience; to be doing something with your life worth a man’s (or a woman’s) doing; to be loved or appreciated. Having a clear conscience will require at least as much effort as it takes to get to the nearest confessional, and maybe some action beyond the penance prescribed there. To be doing something worthwhile can be problematic if half your waking time has to be spent in front of a computer in an office cubicle, but that means care must be taken – an effort must be made – to find ways besides “relaxation” to spend one’s remaining time. And nobody will be loved or appreciated who does not make the effort to get outside his self and beyond his own happiness to show some love and appreciation to others.

Though the self-indulgent sentimentalist will enjoy his periodic shot of synthetic emotion, his little taste of someone else’s loss or frisson of an emotion other than content, no sane person (much less one who is insane) will set out deliberately to be miserable. However, if mere contentedness is all that is desired, it requires little effort – none to speak of. Simply close your eyes and smile. If you want to feel really good, laugh. You don’t need to think of anything funny. Just laugh. Keep it up for half a minute and you’ll wonder afterward why anybody would think happiness so elusive he needs to spend his life in its pursuit. The point is the pursuit of happiness as an end will lead nowhere except to sentimentality and a sentimental life. That is to speak of life in this world. Getting to the one in Heaven requires that this life be filled with stronger stuff. In a word, there are more important things to do in life than trying to be happy, but if that is all to which somebody, or an entire people, aspires and it leaves him unfulfilled and the people without a high historical destiny, what they get will be exactly what they deserve.