The Communication Architect
The Communication Architect
Celebrating 250: An Interview with History Professor Kyle Hermann
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The cause has never been clearer and the stakes have never been higher! America has weathered many storms from without and within over the past 250 years. What will it take for us as active citizens to protect and preserve the qualities that were handed down to us from our Founding Fathers? Join Dr. Lisa Dunne for a special interview with historian, politician, and history professor Kyle Hermann as we celebrate the grandeur of America's global impact. Find out why our nation needs you more than ever at this pivotal moment in history.
And if you're tired of hearing anti-America rhetoric taught in our nation's schools, join us for our next parent interest meeting for our PK to college outreach. We will help you find or start a local academic support group that celebrates faith, family, and freedom. Learn more at AcademicRescueMission.com. God bless the USA!
K to 12 Rescue Mission: https://www.academicrescuemission.com
Christian Community College: https://www.veritascc.us
CVCU degree programs: https://www.cvcu.us
Book Dr. Lisa to speak: https://www.DrLisaDunne.com
@DrLisaDunne
Hi, I'm Dr. Lisa Dunn, and thanks for joining me here today on the Communication Architect. Each week we'll show content that will empower you to grow your personal and leadership capacity in the development of communication competencies that build emotional health and relational results. Now, let's go with Hello everyone and welcome to the show. I'm Dr. Lisa Dunn, a lifelong homeschooling parent, author, and president of Chula Vista Christian University, a Bible-based university model that centers on mentor-driven, debt-free higher education. Why would we send a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, into a secular system of education? At CVCU, you'll learn in a personalized environment where you are known, valued, and loved, and you'll graduate totally debt-free. Visit us at cvcu.us to see how we are taking back education for the next generation. Education is formation. Who is teaching the children and what are they being taught? For the continuance of the church and the faith, I'm calling on pastors and parents across the United States to be part of the solution to America's education crisis. Pastors, we will come alongside you and help you open your church doors to the community during the school day. For preschool to eighth grade options, go to Academic Rescue Mission.com to find a support academy or start one of your own. Just click the Start an Academy tab and we can help you launch your church-based parent-led outreach in just four weeks. And if you have or know students who are part of the 50 million kids in public middle school or high school, we want to help you bring them Christian content with our new community college program. Fill out the contact form at Veritas CC to join us for an upcoming parent meeting. And of course, our flagship program, Chula Vista Christian University. Starting in ninth grade, students can take a full load of college courses in our in-person, debt-free, faith-based model. Take it once and count it twice. That's dual enrollment. Go to cbcu.us slash dual enroll to learn more or discover our new programs like aviation and apologetics by going to cbcu.us. Of course, you can find all of our books, blogs, and resources online at cbcu.us. That's Julia Vista Christian University. Well, I'm so excited about today's guest. It's not his first time on the show, but as we celebrate America's 250th birthday, we are so excited to have back one of our incredible local historians to talk about all things red, white, and blue. Our guest today was born and raised in San Diego, where he was active in both extracurricular activities and in his home church skyline all the way through college and young adult years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a master's degree from Liberty University. And since graduating, he has taught history and constitution at five local schools from El Cajon to Irvine, all across San Diego County and beyond. He's passionate about learning from the past as well as leading others to do the same. He's also a practitioner in his field. As a senior in college, he ran for office and served as vice chair of the Valley de Oro committee planning community planning group. He also served on the historic site board of San Diego County, San Diego Young Republicans, Rancho Helix de Oro Fire Safety Council. And he currently serves as a district rep for the state senate. As one of the youngest elected officials in San Diego County, he hopes to inspire others to be civically engaged and to take steps to become courageous and just leaders in their realm of influence. And that is why he's on this week's show, two-part series. Join us next week as well. Please join me in welcoming Professor Kyle Herman. Thanks so much for being back on the show, Kyle.
SPEAKER_02Of course. I get to be on uh around 4th of July every year. So that's very good.
SPEAKER_00Yes, of course. Well, let's start off talking about how you got involved in politics. Obviously, you and I talk a lot about how disengaged um citizens are today. Not even only the youngest citizens, citizens in general are disengaged from the political sphere. What got you involved in the political sphere?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's interesting. It is one of those things that I can trace back to probably all the way into elementary school when I first wanted to run for student council or something. And I always kind of had a dream of being involved in politics, but I figured you either like run for president or that's it. Um, or you have to do something big. And obviously, as I grew older, I started to learn about more local positions. Um I found out now that there's over 525,000 elected offices in the United States. Um, and so there really is everything from dog catcher to president. And so, you know, public service doesn't uh necessarily have to be, you know, the top thing every single time. And so I learned that um for myself, and I found out that I could run for a local advisory community planning group um while I was interning uh at the Republican Party, and so I did. And I put my name on the ballot in 2018 and I won. I got sixth place, and there were seven spots open, and so um that was the best sixth place I've ever gotten, that's for sure. And so I just kind of jumped right in and I actually sat behind the dais before I walked across the stage for my bachelor's degree.
SPEAKER_00So that is amazing. You know, I love that history. And of those half a million, you know, seats that are available across the United States, many of those stand uncontested. And when we get that ballot and there's just no one running against the other person, how how do you feel about that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, it's both a good and a bad thing. It's a good thing in the sense that you know that there are seats out there that you could go run for and be uncontested. Um, but obviously it's a bad thing uh for the for the system because there are people who are literally just putting their name on the ballot. And, you know, I suppose there's some really good people out there, and so um there are some good cases of a really strong incumbent. We have a few of those in San Diego who doesn't have an opponent, and I'm happy about it. But overall, um, you know, there's about 400 offices in San Diego County, and the average person on a normal income with, you know, enough free time uh could go sign up and potentially serve in one of those positions.
SPEAKER_00That's incredible. I I I want to make sure that when we close the show that we talk about the steps to for anybody who feels called to politics, is that's it's so powerful for people to recognize that they have agency, that there's just something that's in their hand that they can use. Well, let's talk about. I wanted to spend a little time talking about the significant symbols in US history because obviously we bleed red, white, and blue. We're definitely patriots to the core. And but unfortunately, a lot of our listeners, you know, they've been raised in school environments and and even family environments sometimes where um the history of our great nation has not been talked about, has not been celebrated. In fact, in many education systems, um, not so much in the county where you live, but in the county where I live, the the education system has undermined America's greatness. And so I thought talking a little bit about some of the symbols might be fun for people to understand just what our country really stands for and the impact that we've had around the globe. Let's talk first about the flag, the symbol of the flag. Why is it significant? What's the history? What should people know about the flag?
SPEAKER_02Well, you know, this might sound a little short, but it's it's the most beautiful flag out there. Um but it does, it is um on its own very strikingly, um, very visually striking and very beautiful. Um, and you know, the flag in and of itself, aside from the the mini symbolisms uh that are attached to it, it's something that is carried into um battles and wars. Um when you see the pictures of World War II, you see them raising the 48-star flag. It didn't have all 50 on it yet, but the 48-star flag on Iwo Jima. And, you know, you see the the Patriots of the Revolutionary War carrying their Betsy Ross flag. Um, and so the the flags in general, and you know, in the month of June that we're sitting in, um, there's other flags that everyone is celebrating. Um, but you actually see that same for all of the talks about raising particular flags at city halls, you see the the importance of what a flag actually means to people. You know, no one could say, like, oh, it's not that important. No, it absolutely is, because to see whatever symbol it is raised up on the flagpole uh can be very, very meaningful to people. So, um, but of course, some of the little intricacies of the flag. Um, the there are, of course, 50 stars uh for all 50 states, um, and then uh white of the stripes is for the purity of intention, and I believe red is kind of the blood of the Patriots, and uh there are 13 stripes to signify the original 13 colonies. So um even in you know, some of those small ways, it does represent some huge things about our country.
SPEAKER_00So it's so powerful really thinking about it as a living symbol, because even as you talk about from the days of Betsy Ross, from the you know, the small circle of 13 stars and the representation of that growth and Irojima and um you know it the song, it's the flag still stands for freedom, and you can't take that away. But it is it's a symbol of allegiance. So when we talk about people putting flags up at City Hall or flags up at this public school district, that is an allegiance that uh that that uh exposes our heart. What is our heart connected to? And so when you have systems that are undermining the symbol of the flag, it's so much deeper and so much more intentional, unfortunately, overtly so um when we talk about attacking the flag because it is a symbol of freedom, the freedom that our founding fathers and many others um throughout the centuries have died throughout the 250 years have died for. Um let's talk about the Star Spingo Banner and the Constitution. Um obviously a little bit of the history on Star Spangle Banner. Um, I love uh I love the power of music, the power of the not only the lyrical content, but the the the instrumentation. Um but let's talk a little bit about um how that song came to be. And uh obviously it's gonna be celebrated all over uh all over the United States in just a couple of weeks. Um let's start there and we'll talk a little bit about the Constitution.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, um, there's some really good for our listeners, there are some good videos and articles that you could kind of read the read or watch one of these uh stories, and they'll do like a you know an artistic rendition of the song and everything. So definitely recommend looking that up. But you know what it comes down to was um the war of 1812, and they were in they were in Maryland, and um Francis Scott Key uh was sitting on the other side of the ramparts, um, and they you know were being bombarded by the British and all this sort of stuff. And um the British wanted to take the big American flag down, and that was their you know kind of their ultimate symbol of victory is um yeah, that they they took the flag down. And so they were bombarding, bombarding, bombarding, and uh when the sun rose, uh you know, you're starting to hear the lyrics of the song here. Um, when the sun rose, uh, everyone woke up after the night of bombardment and they saw the flag still standing. And they said, our flag is still there, and they realized that they had won over the British the second time. Uh sorry to some of our British listeners. Um but uh they they beat the British again. Um, and this, of course, is right when the British had burned the White House. Um, you know, we sometimes forget that it didn't end with the Revolutionary War. Um, one of the worst attacks on U.S. soil was actually the British burning the White House in in the 1800s. So um, so yeah, to to wake up the morning after being bombarded all night and to see the American flag still standing um was obviously the inspiration for that song.
SPEAKER_00Incredible. So incredible. Now let's talk about the Constitution. I love this. Um, the the underpinnings of the Constitution. Let's talk about the biblical basis of the underpinnings for the Constitution, though the only such document in the history of the world. Um, why is it so important? What were some of the inspirational concepts that our founding fathers drew from? And how is it impacting us, not only in America, but across the world today?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I think it's been said that they uh they literally watched all of world history and they tried to kind of put it into one document. Um, and so they saw everything from Rome, Rome as a republic, Rome as an empire, um, and then of course England as an empire and all this sort of stuff. And so they scoured the philosophers and and the history books, and uh then they all came together. And you know, if you read some of the um philosophers that slightly predate uh the writing of the constitution, you see that they even have sharp differences about how to go about things. And of course, the framers of the constitution and the founding fathers in general had severe disagreements about how to see certain things through. But basically, they they came together with this document that says, okay, we've looked at human history, and here are just some of the basics about how we could run a good country. Uh so just one really good example is uh separation of powers. Um so, you know, in any organization, even like the university has a board and a president and a staff, and no one person has all of the power to do any single thing. Um, I've literally told this to my students. I've said, you know, would would you want me to have the power to suspend you or remove you from school? And they go, no, that's like a, you know, that's like a big president decision. I said, right. And would you want the president coming in right now and just giving you a grade on the test that I gave you? No, you wouldn't. So um you can see even in daily life, um, how how important kind of the separation of powers is. And so, you know, you put that at a big scale with the president and Congress and the Supreme Court. Um, and I think, you know, you have to look no further than literally the situation that we find ourselves in right now, uh, where everyone from Governor Newsom to President Trump is, you know, talking about the Constitution, talking about their rights. Um, you know, the uh the 2024 election turned California's governor into a states' rights advocate. Um, and I've never heard someone talk more about the constitution than our current governor. Because he he, not that I d uh agree with him, but you know, like Governor Newsom, for example, feels like all the rights of Californians are being threatened by the federal government. And so now he realizes, just like everyone's always been saying, how important it is to stick to your constitutional rights um and how important it is to defend that. So it's been a very interesting experiment um across the entire country right now with kind of some of the times that we live in to see how people really are starting to lean back on their rights.
SPEAKER_00So incredible, incredible. Thank you. Um let's talk about some of your favorite presidential quotes. I always quote a quote on friendship from George Washington on the show. What are some of the quotes that really stand out to you from great leaders of our nation?
SPEAKER_02Huh, I was the first one that came to mind is not really an inspirational quote. It's more of a historical quote. So let me see. Well, so the oddly enough, the first one that comes to my mind is the middle of the Civil War, and I'm gonna have to paraphrase it, but um during the Civil War, as they were, as President Lincoln was trying to figure out what to do, he said, Um, I will save the Union and I will free none of the slaves. I will save the union and I will free all of the slaves, but I will save the union. And people have misconstrued that, kind of going back to your first question. They've misconstrued that to say, oh, he didn't actually care about ending slavery. Well, no, that's not true. Um, but he did care so much about keeping the union together that keeping the union together was the ultimate goal in fighting uh to protect the constitution and even to bring to keep the South as a part of our country. Um, you know, he basically said, We we're not gonna let you guys go. And we're not gonna let this country fall apart. Um, and once we save this country from falling apart from within, um, that will give us the best opportunity we have to continue to fight for freedom for the slaves and then freedom for um everyone else as well.
SPEAKER_00So powerful. I know that um that concept of falling from within. I think it's attributed to Lincoln. I think it's been kind of debunked that it was uh that he didn't say it, but it certainly goes along with that concept of um that our America will never be defeated from the outside. It'll only be from within, from within our own borders where we undermine our work. I love um Washington's quote about friendship. He said that friendship is a plant of slow growth that must uh undergo and withstand the shocks of um the shocks of something until uh before it's worthy of the name friendship. Um that uh it's it's always so fascinating to me. Like when I'm reading Jonathan Edwards or other people that lived, you know, way back in that time, the some of the same struggles that um Gen Z's face are, you know, uh part of our our nation's history too. What about some of your favorite history books? Obviously, I love the book that you use for CVCU. Um I've recommended that to many parents who are looking for something um for their children, which we'll talk about in just a minute. But what are some of the books that have shaped your mindset? What are some of the books that have the voices that have shaped how you think about our country? Um and and even things that you maybe took away. I know for me, you went to Liberty, I went to Regent. You know, there were many books that my professors used that really shaped my thinking about um about my field. What are what are some of those books for you?
SPEAKER_02Um, so definitely the one that we use for my class, which is Patriots History of the United States. Um it's a little intimidating when you first look at it because it's it's it's a thousand pages long, it's comprehensive. Um there is one that's what we'll say. It's comprehensive. That is it's true. It even goes, they did an update for it. And it goes into the first Trump term. And I went, oh my gosh, it's the history book even comes up to the present. That's crazy. But uh there's a shorter one, I forget the author, but um, it was written by Hillsdale College or someone affiliated. It was called Land of Pope. Um, and so it has a lot of the same storyline as Patriots history, but it's a lot shorter and a lot more narrative-based, where Patriots is um it is a classic history book with footnotes and um 45-page chapters. Um but also the important thing about Patriots is that it was written um in direct response to People's History of the United States, which is obviously a revisionist, um uh Marxist view of the world um that breaks down all of US history in race, class, and gender. So um Patriots is a really powerful book uh which is probably similar to other history books, but you know, actually touches on some of the points that um that people's history is literally being taught in our uh community colleges and our colleges and stuff like that. So very important work on there.
SPEAKER_00I was just at a at a city meeting yesterday and people were talking about some of the books that are being used in history in our um in our community colleges and our high schools here in San Diego County, where by the way the dropout rate is 70% community college. Um but for those who get stuck in those classes and get their history undermined, what are some of the books that Amer that parents should be that they should be aware of? I think there was one talking about across the centuries someone was talking about yesterday, which is has undermining components of um faith and and freedom. What are some other ones that we should be aware of?
SPEAKER_02Um well, I actually haven't heard of a ton recently, but that was people's history.
SPEAKER_00Um sounds good on the on the cover. People's history, but the people, but no.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and the people's republic of China. Um, you know, same sort of thing. So it sounds real great. Um I I would honestly kind of just say test all of them. Like there's not really I I wouldn't have a ton of faith at this point that you know a history book that you're gonna get in in a community or um public university class is you know does a very good job. So I would just say if you are attending um public schools, or maybe even of course, even some private Christian schools, that um that you do a deep dive on one of those.
SPEAKER_00Which is of course the problem with we've talked about on the show many times with private Christian schools. If all the professors went to public schools, they've already been indoctrinated, trained up in the way they should go. And so they naturally think through that same lens. So it's really important, parents listening to the show that you are training up with the proper foundations of reading and introducing, you know, like we do at CBCU, what are the rest of Americans? What are they being taught? And how does that contradict about the truth of our history, the truth of the word? And so um and that's that leads into kind of the next question about some of the threats that we face. What are some of the the threats facing Americans? We have an incredible history. We have a a a document that's built, as you said, on the the lessons that have been learned since the dawn of civilization and the and the the full counsel of the word of God. What are the threats to um a nation that has such a strong foundation?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think one of the biggest ones would certainly be apathy. Um and just, you know, as we have talked about and we'll probably talk about more, is just not getting involved at all. Um and there's a lot that could be said about um how certain uh states could even turn around if um faithful Christians um all got together and voted in one big block. There's I think there's even numbers to support that California could uh drastically change overnight um for that. So apathy is a big one.
SPEAKER_00And then I think could you hit me with some stats on that? Because I've I've read a lot of numbers that are like 30% are voting, or less than 50% of evangelical Christians are registered to vote. What are some of the stats off the top of your head? And how do we wake up? How do we wake up? The apathetic.
SPEAKER_02One one, you know, just specifically like in California. So California is obviously um leans very, very blue. Um, I think the governor gets about a 65% vote um when he runs. But um California is also not a majority Caucasian state. It's actually a split, uh like 32% for Caucasian and Hispanic. And what's important about that is that um many, many Hispanics, uh, especially uh uh Mexican Catholics are very conservative. Right. Like probably more conservative than I am in in some ways. And if they voted um, you know, not just saying vote Republican, but voted very conservatively, um, that voting block would be huge. And so there's really um there's like a massive voting block out there of of conservative Catholics um that, you know, have probably for one reason or another, I think probably due to, you know, some of the sensitive issues around immigration and stuff like that, have been turned off from the conservative side of American politics. But if there was ever a way to, you know, kind of move past that, I think California would literally shift overnight.
SPEAKER_00Um, and some of these communities like LA, San Diego, even True Levista, 67% Hispanic, and we have a you know a conservative mayor and a completely liberal city council that votes down everything he says.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I think I think um even just personal experience from many of the um just many of the Hispanics that I know in San Diego, most of them have been as conservative as me. And so, and I'm sure they all vote similarly too, but I'm just thinking that there's probably enough people out there to not have the Chula Vista City Council type um being the ones running the show. There could actually be uh some there could actually be like kind of a real competition of you know, conservative and liberal at the very least.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I think for for just for clarity for people listening in who maybe haven't been engaged in the political sphere, and many people say, well, my vote doesn't matter, my voice doesn't matter, I'm gonna be outvoted. And of course, the the we the people concept that reminds us that we have agency is really important. But let's talk about what what does that mean when you say conservatism? Is it more accurate to say vote biblically, know the Bible, know the word, know whose um, you know, whose ticket is, whose platform is lining up the best with what God has called us to do? How how would you define conservatism? It used to be that the lines were a lot more blurred even when I was growing up in the 70s. It was it there was a lot more of a blurry line. Today it seems pretty clear. What are the distinctions?
SPEAKER_02Well, one of the biggest ones is um conservatism versus liberalism being that the government is the one to fix it. Um and it's not to I there are some conservatives who probably hate the government, you know, they'll like walk around saying taxation is theft and all that sort of stuff. Um, but the it's really, you know, who's supposed to solve it. So for the average liberal, they look at some sort of issue and they say, okay, we're gonna call the government to fix this. And it could be anything from homelessness to um insulin prices. That's a new one that the government's getting involved in. Um, because the people who pave your roads are the people who want to um, you know, make medicine for you. And if the quality is the same, then I would, you know, start writing my will probably. So um, but that that is one of the the major, and so that plays out in a variety of different ways, obviously higher taxes, um, government programs, stuff like that. And the you know, more broad conservative position would be um to let different organizations, different spheres of culture handle those sorts of issues. One uh one great example would be like you know, homelessness. Um if the government's gonna get involved, there's like really only a few things that they can do. They could literally go around and arrest everybody, um, and they can go around and put everyone in um big programs. But if the church or if private companies really took this on, right, then they could offer jobs, offer housing, offer food. Um, and sometimes the other thing about that is that um, even though we live in a very big government, the government is usually not big enough to solve the problem that it is set out to. Uh, so just using homelessness as an example is that it's obviously solvable, but with 40,000 people out on the street, um, the government is not really always going to have the resources to take on that issue fully.
SPEAKER_00So of course, you're you have an incredible mayor who's really working hard on that issue. But when we look through the history of America, it has not been the government that's been most successful in addressing those types of situations. And um, in fact, I don't know if I ever even told you this that I did my master's thesis at Regent University, my first master's degree on civic engagement. And one of the things I looked at was um how uh what type of role the church played, the American church played in uh transforming the culture. And because the American church has stepped back and given so much power to the government and taken power as a result from the people and from parents, which is the huge crisis that we're seeing today in the next generation, that parents are are are being cut out of the conversation in so many arenas. It's it's terrifying, it's sobering. Um but but we saw the the historicity of that that movement, that the church, it was not the government, it was the church over and over again that was successful and many times in in the early part of last century, the government would ask the church to step in because the government was throwing up its hands and saying we don't have the capacity or even the compassion, to be honest. And so it's you know, to look at um, you know, one of my visions obviously is that the local church would be restored to the center born of culture, to the to the moral and intellectual authority that it once held, that parents and pastors would would have that place of influence again and that the government would be dethroned in that regard, that it's to serve the people, not to lord over the people, um, the servant leadership or concept that we see from Robert Greenleaf. And so I I think there's just so much in this conversation that's so important. Um, let's talk about how America has impacted not only our own citizens, but the rest of the world. We have a reputation for being leaders across the globe. And many, you know, we have a lot of shared friends, you and I, who travel consistently across the globe and hear from national leaders the impact of America, the role model of America. What are some things that America is known for across the globe?
SPEAKER_02Um I mean, simply people know that we're a place of freedom. And, you know, people know that this is kind of a place where you can come and um you can leave your home country and come here. And I had a I had a friend or a family friend who was from Europe um and she had come to visit and she would come for three months at a time and whatever. And one day, uh, as we were taking her back to the airport, uh she said, um, is this helicopter? Um we're taking her back to the airport, and we had pulled immigration papers to see if we were gonna start that process or whatever, and she just said, America, my favorite place in the world. Um, and I just that really stuck with me that someone who grew up in another country and who would only come to visit here for three months at a time, um, you know, viewed this place as as her favorite. And um, and that was also due to the people she got to spend time with, which is uh, you know, an important piece too, that it's not just America as a document or a government, but it is American people who um who do amazing things. So, I mean, you know, there's all sorts of stories. There's um, you know, missionaries showing up across the world, there's the US military going on humanitarian missions. Uh, seldom known about the USS Midway is that our own Midway was not really a warship for most of uh her career. Um one of the most significant things that Midway ever did was a humanitarian mission uh during the fall of Saigon. Um so what was the mission? You know, um uh Operation Frequent Wind. So Midway it itself rescued 7,000 Vietnamese during the fall and they were um they were looking to see where all the American helicopters were going, and so they got in their own helicopters and flew out to the carrier and crash-landed on the carrier. Um, and Midway ended up rescuing like somewhere between four and seven thousand Vietnamese people, um, many of whom uh got to come back. But last year for the 50th anniversary, and so these are people who are now, you know, who were children who are now 50, um, and whose parents and grandparents got to uh escape the fall of uh Vietnam and come and live here in America on one of our ships. So um, you know, there's there's a ton of different stories about how America has shown up um and we continue to do so. Um and yeah.
SPEAKER_00We really do, we really show up. Proverbs says that when we see someone staggering toward the slaughter, it's our responsibility to step in as agents of change. I mean, we're we're called to that as believers. And so, you know, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. We I'm I'm so hopeful that there's a there's a turning point right now in our country where we're just uh beginning to see some um some hope for um you know a new a new future that's built on the past, ironically. Let's talk about parents who are trying to educate their children about our nation's real history. Where where did they start? Uh what books do you recommend? What should they do if their kids have been undermined in in terms of the historicity of our country?
SPEAKER_02Um, I think, you know, it it could be so much simpler. I'm I I don't know of any like I know there's like the Tuttle Twins, I think is one of the kind of the kids' videos, and I'm sure there are specific um like children's books out there, but I think honestly, is I guess it's kind of a different conversation if like a kid is gone off to school and has learned poorly, or if you're just kind of starting from scratch, but I think starting from scratch, just like almost enjoy it. Like um we all go to the Fourth of July parade in Coronado, of course, and it's just it's great, it's just fun, right? And you get to see all of the amazing things, and so I imagine one of the first steps is is taking uh you know a young kid or I guess even a grown kid to a parade like that and say, this kind of stuff is good and this is fun, and we get to celebrate our country. And on the way there, all the way down to Coronado and back, you can talk about some of the the tough things in history too. Like how, you know, how do we reckon with um slavery or something like that? And those are great conversations that you can have while going down to celebrate your country and watch the fireworks and all that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, make it part of our Deuteronomy 6.6 model. It's everywhere we go, everywhere, everything we're doing together as a family that we're talking about that's cool as life. Okay, for those who feel called to politics, maybe they're listening to the show and they heard your bio and they know you got involved even as a high school or in uh in really in the local government. What do they do? Are there training programs? Are they do they have to be what kind of qualifications do they need? If they feel called, what's their first step?
SPEAKER_02I always say the first step is to show up like somewhere, uh, and you know, and kind of take a deep breath and um, you know, find those around you who maybe are involved. Um I I've told this story to, you know, all of our CBCU people, but the way I got involved was writing letters. And um the other night I just hung up all of my letters that I've ever received from a president. And I have one from every president since I was in high school, which is three. But um, you know, and that just kind of got me excited that I have a letter to hang on my wall from the president of the United States. And but, you know, so that's kind of like a like a fervor thing, but uh just a practical like getting started. You could literally look up the schedule of your city council um or something and just go. And you could sit in the back and say absolutely nothing and just watch it and see what happens, and you will, I mean, I can 100% guarantee you will learn something. Um, you might even learn that city council meetings are even more boring than you thought they were, um, or something like that. Um, or you might find out um that there are some really hot topics going on. And what you come to realize, uh, first of all, some of these meetings are like every month, and you know, for the average citizen, um, they all about a pothole that needs fixed or a housing project that's going in. And many of those super vocal people will show up at meetings, but you know, most citizens have an opinion about something, and there's literally a meeting that happens every single month down the street from your house where you could go and either learn, speak, advocate, whatever. So that's kind of always my advice is just find the local, and it doesn't have to be city council, it could be a political meeting, um, it could be a volunteer. There's just where I live, there's like five organizations that if I wanted to spend a Saturday picking up trash or um doing a docent type of thing that I can do. So it doesn't even have to be in higher inherently political either.
SPEAKER_00Get involved. We the people, right? The consent of the governed. Jeremiah says, pray for the city where I've sent you into exile in its welfare. You will find your welfare. We must be involved, citizens. Professor Herman, thank you so much for taking the time to be on our show today. It is always a joy to have you, and especially this this week and next week as we celebrate America's 250th anniversary. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Thank you for having me for our friends.
SPEAKER_00If we want civically engaged citizens, you know the stats. Homeschoolers are more engaged, more academically equipped, and more socially mature than their traditionally educated counterparts. Education is formation. Who is teaching the children and what are they being taught? One of the amazing offshoots we see in the CBCU model is not only our academic support and structure, but whole student development that comes from having mentors, from having your voice matter. Our children need relational, emotional, and spiritual fortitude in order to thrive or for the continuance of the church and the faith. I'm calling on pastors and parents across the United States to be part of the solution. For preschool to eighth grade homeschool support options, you can go to academicrescue mission.com to start an academy or find one we've got running anywhere across the United States. If you're in public school or your kids are in public school, we want to help you bring Christian content. Fill out the contact form at veritascc.us or join us for an upcoming parent meeting and find out what we're doing to reach the 50 million kids who are in public school where they're often being indoctrinated daily against our country, against their family, and against the faith. And of course, for our full university degree programs, you can go to cbcu.us. That's true la Vista Christian University. If you're new to the show or you're homeschooling for the first time, you can catch all the episodes on my communication architect podcast. Scroll back for more inspiration. And don't forget to check out my two latest books, The Mentor Method and Outsourced Why America's Kids Need the Education Revolution. They're available along with all of our books, blogs, blogs, and podcasts on the homepage at cbcu.us. Again, I'm Dr. Lisa Don. Thanks for joining me on today's show. I'll be back next week with more tips and tools of the trade. We'll see you then. Thanks again for joining us here on the communication architect. If you have questions about today's episode or if there are topics you'd like to see us address, send your comments via Instagram2 at Wolstabon or follow email to wrongs.com or two on the strategic more helpful emotional help and we need more results. So we don't miss the next episode on Dr. Wilson. And we look forward to talking about the next time on the