America's Historical Sites Inspire Us To Fight To Preserve Our Liberty

The depressing debate over the debt ceiling underscores just how recklessly the ruling class has squandered America's sacred heritage -- a heritage I had the privilege of revisiting up close this past week on a family vacation.

The contrast between the sublime historical locations we experienced during the day and the alarming news we ingested each night about the dire state of our nation's financial condition couldn't have been starker.

Upon witnessing the majesty of our historical sites, it's difficult not to be outraged at the irresponsible stewardship of our do-gooder ruling class. These elites are on the final leg of their long journey to uproot our founding principles and remake the nation in their quest for moral self-realization through public acts of philanthropy with other people's money and liberty. In the name of compassion, they have systematically undermined our founding ideals of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and equal opportunity under the law.

Standing firm against this relentless onslaught are patriots committed to preserving our tradition of constitutional self-governance and our liberties, and there is no greater inspiration for patriots than America's historical sites. Let me share with you, then, a few highlights of the places we visited.

We flew into Washington, where we visited the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the Capitol, Ford's Theatre, the National Museum of American History, the American Museum of Natural History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Later in the week, we went to Gettysburg and were treated to a moving two-hour tour by a personal guide who couldn't have been more informative.

But from Washington, we headed for George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It is hard to imagine a more beautiful setting. The house and grounds are in mint condition, and the facility is one of the finest I've seen anywhere. It is thrilling to stand on the grounds and inside the actual home of America's first president.

The next day, we visited Colonial Williamsburg, which contains a nearly mile-long stretch of period buildings and other attractions. Workers are dressed in costume and perform in character, making the experience truly authentic. My favorite spot there was the Capitol building, where the guide recounted the seminal work in constitutional statecraft of Virginia's many heavyweights of the era, including George Mason and Patrick Henry.