Week in Review: What John Adams Said

Barbecues. Pool parties. Fireworks. The right to live your life as you see fit.

Our founding fathers battled to secure the blessings of liberty—whether they be the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights or the simple enjoyments of a long July 4 weekend, Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur explains in the Washington Examiner. As John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail: “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”

We’re celebrating liberty’s blessings this Independence Day weekend. But as leftists advocate for more government control, we’re also fighting to preserve the freedom to pursue one’s own version of the American Dream. That’s why we’re challenging the one-size-fits-all education system—because schooling customized around each child’s unique needs equips them to improve their lives and shape their own destinies. And it’s why we’re empowering citizens to hold their leaders accountable—so that we don’t fall victim to authoritarianism and risk losing this American way of life.

Read Sandefur’s op-ed in the Washington Examiner, and find out more about our school choice and open government accomplishments below. 

National Media Hails Biggest Victory for School Choice…Ever

National media outlets with millions of readers are shining the spotlight on Goldwater’s work to make school choice for all a reality in Arizona. “School Choice Blooms in the Desert,” touts the headline of a Wall Street Journal editorial praising Arizona’s universal expansion of eligibility for its Empowerment Scholarship Account program, which puts money that would otherwise go toward a given child’s public schooling into an account that parents can use on education-related expenses of their choice.

“This legislation is the most robust expansion of educational freedom in the nation,” Goldwater Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg told the Washington Free Beacon. Arizona is set to become “the nation’s ‘gold standard’ for school choice,” The Daily Wire adds, while RedState calls the reform a “game changer.”

For years, Goldwater has been at the forefront of giving families more education choices, both in Arizona, where we created ESAs, and across the country. We’re proud to have expanded school choice in 19 states in 2021, and we won’t stop until we’ve ensured school choice for every child in America.

Read about The Wall Street Journal editorial here, and read Beienburg’s comments to the Washington Free Beacon here. 

Here’s How You Can Keep Government Accountable

It’s simple, Goldwater Director of National Litigation Jon Riches said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom”: The public has a “right to know what their government is up to.” And whether it’s parents trying to find out what their children are learning in public schools or citizen watchdogs exposing corruption, public records laws give us the power to find out. Now, thanks to Goldwater’s OpenMyGovernment.org project, citizens can learn how to hold public officials accountable.

Through Goldwater’s all-new OpenMyGovernment.org website and its Open My Government: A Citizens Guide to Public Records Requests, citizens can access a comprehensive, step-by-step, and state-by-state guide that outlines best practices for drafting well-defined requests for public information that are tailored to each state’s unique public records law.

And we’re not just training Americans to file effective public records requests. Our American Freedom Network has pro bono attorneys in all 50 states ready to fight on citizens’ behalf—in court, if necessary—when government entities try to hide information. We’re arming citizens with the tools they need to shine a light on public information and keep government accountable—every step of the way.

Find out more at In Defense of Liberty.