BasicsProject.org is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) research and
educational initiative whose mission is to re-introduce the American public
to the basic elements of our constitutional heritage while providing
non-partisan, fact-based information on relevant socio-political issues
important to our country, specifically the threats of aggressive
Islamofascism and the American Fifth Column.
BasicsProject.org works to educate the American people using primary source
materials and culling qualified opinions from governmental agencies,
congressional testimonies, internationally recognized experts, credible
think tanks and editorial boards, as well as by providing a forum for groups
offering differing perspectives. BasicsProject.org’s goal is the liberation of
the American people from what James Madison called “factions” and special
interests in government.
BasicsProject.org has developed into an association of individuals with widely
divergent experiences and philosophies who, each to their strengths but
working toward the common goals of our mission statement, facilitates a
platform from which the goals of re-involvement and continuing education of
the American citizen can be achieved.
Through educational advocacy for our
citizenry and providing access to reliable information via our website and
symposiums, BasicsProject.org fosters the re-emergence of civic responsibility
and active, responsible participation of citizens in
their government.
It is difficult to value something when its worth is unknown.
This truth brings to mind the old adage about two children who had received
the same bike, one given the bike, the other made to earn the bike.
Invariably, the child who was given the bike was more prone to neglecting
it, not understanding its worth, while the child who was made to earn the
bike, who understood its worth, maintained it. This basic truth applies to
our American Heritage and the continued welfare of our nation.
Without a solid understanding of the basic principles used by our Founding
Fathers in establishing our constitutional republic – principles used to
craft The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution and
The Bill of Rights – it is sometimes difficult for Americans to recognize
the worth of the American ideal. When the full value of freedom and liberty are not realized it becomes easy to incrementally relinquish
rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
Further, without a basic understanding of the value of our founding
principles and the worth of the American ideal, the American public is less
inclined to be concerned with the unfettered access to un-manipulated,
fact-based information, information needed to address many of the serious
issues facing our nation, our nation’s leaders and the world.
Today, our country faces both a threat from abroad and a
threat, in the form of ideological conflict, from within. While some among
us choose to accentuate the imperfections of our nation, others condemn our
culture or literally champion our nation’s defeat and demise. Those who
choose to diminish the significance of US contributions to the world, do so
in ignorance of the intent of the documents that charted the course for this
great nation and the ideologies and principles that provided the foundation
for the creation of our governmental covenant.
We at BasicsProject.org understand that there is a direct
correlation between understanding the principles, ideology, history and
meaning behind our founding documents – the Charters of Freedom – and the
proclivity to value and advance our American Heritage to the next generation
and beyond.
Two of the biggest challenges facing our country today are the result of (1)
philosophical biases impinging upon the mainstream sources we have come to
rely upon for credible, accurate information and (2) poor education
instructional practices undermining the ability of the schools to meet their
civic mission; to foster the qualities necessary for successful government
within a constitutional republic.
In an information age such as it is, one would be led to believe it a simple
process to access information devoid of any ideological bent, presented in
an objective manner. Sadly, this isn’t the case. Recent studies, the most
notable from the Pew Research Center, indicate that an overwhelming majority
of mainstream news organizations employ an agenda-driven editorial policy.
These policies exist on both sides of the aisle and are derived from every
ideology, therefore affecting the information they present.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 88% of individuals
18-29 are online, as are 84% of those 30-49 and 71% of those 50-64. These
statistics are troubling when coupled with the recent revelation that the
most commonly used search engines (Google and Yahoo!) have taken to
manipulating their search engine index databases to align with corporate and
political ideology. Keeping in mind that they account for close to 75% of
all Internet searches made around the world, including searches for
information made by those in government, it is clear that information
brokers have placed their ideology, corporate bottom line and special
interests above the principle of affording people un-manipulated access to
the facts. In doing so, they deprive the American people – and people the
world over – the ability to form fact-based, educated opinions on a plethora
of important issues. This manipulation of information is a direct threat to
our system of government, our American Heritage and to the future of our
country.
There is also cause for concern with regard to our education system.
Although a comprehensive approach in all academic disciplines recognizes the
value of each subject as a conduit to literacy, in a majority of our
nation’s classrooms, teachers treat each branch of learning as entities unto
themselves. Our children should be receiving broad experience reading
non-fiction, as well as fiction, and learning how to communicate orally and
in written form, if we are to maintain our status as a leader of the free
world while continuing to motivate other countries by example. Yet, subjects
such as social studies, civics and US history, which expose students to
expository reading and writing; while teaching how to understand public
policy in relation to the purposes for our government, are considered “of
less value” than those subjects tested under NCLB; i.e., reading and math.
Because they are not measured for adequate yearly progress they are not
taught with as much frequency or dedication. “Best Practice” prescribes that
students have ample opportunities to learn literacy skills, especially in
the context of social studies, so to ensure that no child will graduate
without the skills necessary to make civically responsible decisions.
The inability of a large number of our nation’s populace to process
information presented at higher than an 8th grade level presents a threat to
our very survival. At the founding of our great nation, those residing in
this country communicated at a grade level of 24. The “dumbing down” of
America has left many of her citizens unable to determine whether
information being presented is free of bias or ideologically slanted;
whether policy enacted by our elected officials is good for our country or
geared toward special interests. Thus, a majority of Americans have become
dependent on the mainstream media and aggressive special interest groups to
translate for them what is true, what is best and what they should think. By
doing so, we’ve given up our voice; our stake in this great land. How, then,
can we achieve the essential information needed to make civically competent
choices appropriate for ourselves and our nation?
What is desperately needed for our country to survive this
unprecedented challenge, this “perfect storm,” is an adequate understanding
of the principles, ideologies and history that moved the Framers and
Founding Fathers to risk freedom, liberty, property and ultimately life, so
that their dream of the great American experiment could come to fruition.
We, the American people one and all, need to understand why they found so
much worth in our nation’s creation and why they valued this endeavor enough
to risk dying for it.
Because we at BasicsProject.org recognize the direct correlation between a
solid, fact-based understanding of the principles that founded out great
nation and the American public’s capacity to foment a desire to safeguard
the freedoms and liberties afforded us under our Constitution, the covenant
between citizen and government, our programs engage
today’s educational and informational challenges in multiple ways:
▪ Our Constitutional Literacy Program ensures that every American has
the opportunity to understand the basic principles on which our country was
founded, affording them the wherewithal to understand the value of freedom,
liberty and our Constitutional Republic and the worth of our American
Heritage providing a basic understanding of the contents of The Declaration
of Independence, The US Constitution and The Bill of Rights, and a
fundamental comprehension of why our Founders addressed each concern held
within.
▪ Our educational events and research website,
intended for the
general public, serve as conduits to first-source, fact-based information
from multiple vantage points on a variety of issues vital to our country,
information designed to allow citizens to form their own educated opinions
and to empower and encourage them to engage their governmental process armed
with facts and truth.
BasicsProject.org works diligently to provide non-partisan, primary-source,
fact-based information to the American public. Whether through our
publications, our educational initiatives or our informational and
educational events, BasicsProject.org’s goal is the preservation of our American Heritage and the
liberation of the citizenry from partisan politics and special interests in
government through the education and intellectual empowerment of the
American people.
Through our programs and events,
BasicsProject.org achieves two
goals:
▪ The fact-based, first-source continuing education of the American
citizenry in the Charters of Freedom and the principles championed by our
Founders and Framers
▪ The facilitation of accurate, non-political, fact-based information on the
clear and present dangers to our nation.
Only by knowing the worth of our American Heritage, will We the People be
moved to value and defend it, so that we may be able to pass the Great
American Experiment on to future generations.
Education Initiatives BasicsProject.org develops unique education programs
designed to promote higher level thinking skills with real life
application. Each program ensures that every American has the
opportunity to understand the basic principles on which our
country was founded, affording them the wherewithal to
understand the value of freedom, liberty and our Constitutional
Republic and the worth of our American Heritage.
Programs & Events
BasicsProject.org produces symposiums, lectures &
debates that present fact-based information and first hand
testimony provided by international experts and respected
professionals from all sides of the issues so you can make
informed decisions on the important issues of the day.
Research Issues
BasicsProject.org researches issues currently before
our government bringing you primary source materials and culling
expert opinion from governmental agencies, congressional
testimonies, the international community, credible think tanks
and editorial boards so that you can make up your
mind, basing your decisions on fact rather than rhetoric.
Projects
BasicsProject.org develops programs that reach out
to our community. From our Intern Program that helps high school
juniors and seniors learn how to research primary source,
fact-based material from credible outlets to our outreach
program, BasicsProject.org strives to engage our community in an
effort to preserve our American Heritage.
The
Liberty Tree was a famous tree; some say oak and others recall
elm, which stood in Boston, near Boston Common, in the days
before the American Revolution.
The tree was a rallying point for the growing resistance,
including the Sons of Liberty, to the rule of England over the
American colonies.
In the years that followed, almost every American town had its
own Liberty Tree, a living symbol of popular support for
individual liberty and resistance to tyranny of any origin.
Today, BasicsProject.org embraces the Liberty Tree, both in
symbol and in spirit, in our efforts to advance our American
Heritage to the next generation and beyond
As a 501(c)(3) qualified tax-exempt
organization, your contributions to BasicsProject.org are fully tax deductible
for federal income tax purposes, subject to appropriate limitations. You can help us achieve our goals by
taking advantage of the tax savings available to you through your financial
support of our organization.
Whether it’s an individual contribution or building BasicsProject.org into your
corporate financial structure, the options remain the same, you can pay
taxes to the federal government and hope Congress spends it wisely, or you
can affect that amount by contributing to BasicsProject.org with a guarantee it is going to
help preserve our American Heritage.
Donations and contributions to
BasicsProject.org
are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
BasicsProject.org is a non-profit,
non-partisan 501(c)(3) research and educational initiative. Opinions expressed
by those not directly affiliated with BasicsProject.org are expressly their own.
Responsibility for the accuracy of cited content is expressly that of the
contributing author. BasicsProject.org may or may not agree with opinions and/or
content presented unless expressly cited. All content offered by BasicsProject.org is copyrighted. BasicsProject.org’s goal is the liberation of the American
voter from partisan politics and special interests in government through the
primary-source, fact-based education of the American people.
