{"id":2599412,"date":"2026-05-06T11:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T11:23:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:23:54","slug":"we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorsuch Urges Americans To Take Self-Governance Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwe-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2599412&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Justice neil Gorsuch told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation &#038; Institute that Americans must take self-governance-and especially civic education-seriously as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-kyrsten-sinema-mocked-biden-at-fundraiser-praised-reps-mccarthy-and-biggs\/\" title=\"REPORT: Kyrsten Sinema Mocked Biden At Fundraiser, Praised Reps. McCarthy And Biggs\">country approaches<\/a> its 250th anniversary. Speaking in connection with a children\u2019s book he co-authored, he addressed concerns about the decline of civic education, warning that if <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >foundational ideas<\/a> from the Declaration of Independence aren\u2019t taught and passed on, the country\u2019s future could suffer.<\/p>\n<p>Gorsuch encouraged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uganda-halts-vote-campaigning-in-some-areas-opposition-cries-foul\/\" title=\"Uganda halts vote campaigning in some areas, opposition cries foul\">young people<\/a> to learn from American history and find the virtues and examples that adults should model and teach. He then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doj-sought-federal-hook-to-justify-targeting-parents-at-school-board-meetings-report\/\" title=\"Biden DOJ Sought &#039;Federal Hook&#039; to Justify Targeting ... at School Board Meetings: Report\">pressed parents<\/a> to use their influence at schools to demand that history and civics be taught, arguing that democracy depends on citizens and politicians responding to them-so people can\u2019t \u201cblame others,\u201d but must take ownership of the system.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OWLBp49f8lk\">Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation &#038; Institute\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/06\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=\u2018We Have To Take Ownership\u2019: Gorsuch Urges Americans To Take Self-Governance Seriously&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/06\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=\u2018We Have To Take Ownership\u2019: Gorsuch Urges Americans To Take Self-Governance Seriously&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/06\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/06\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=\u2018We Have To Take Ownership\u2019: Gorsuch Urges Americans To Take Self-Governance Seriously&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/06\/we-have-to-take-ownership-gorsuch-urges-americans-to-take-self-governance-seriously\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Supreme Court Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/neil-gorsuch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Neil Gorsuch<\/a> has a very simple message for America ahead of its 250th birthday: Take self-governance seriously or risk losing the country.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump appointee delivered the straightforward message while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OWLBp49f8lk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">speaking<\/a> at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation &#038; Institute (RRPFI) on Tuesday. The justice\u2019s appearance alongside his former law clerk and co-author Janie Nitze centered around the promotion of their new children\u2019s book,<em> Heroes of 1776<\/em>: <em>The Story of the Declaration of Independence<\/em>, which explores the stories of some of the American Revolution\u2019s biggest and lesser-known heroes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1476954727\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>During his interview, Gorsuch was asked by RRPFI President David Trulio about the \u201cdecline of civic education\u201d in America. Trulio further questioned the justice about what parents can do to \u201ccounter\u201d this trend in their own lives and communities. <\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging the \u201chuge problem,\u201d Gorsuch noted the significance of Independence Day and the \u201cideas\u201d espoused in the Declaration of Independence. More to the point, however, he expressed concern about the future of the country should America fail to pass the recognition of such important principles onto the next generation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate July 4, when that document was approved. It\u2019s those ideas that unite us, and if they don\u2019t get taught, and if the virtues that led to them don\u2019t get taught, then I worry,\u201d Gorsuch said.<\/p>\n<p>The justice went on to note that America \u201chas so much going for it\u201d and is \u201cthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/crenshaw-honors-fallen-capitol-officer-at-funeral-he-was-one-of-our-best\/\" title=\"Crenshaw Honors Fallen Capitol Officer At Funeral: \u2018He Was One Of Our Best\u2019\">greatest country<\/a> in the world.\u201d Addressing the young people in the audience, he encouraged them to \u201cappreciat[e] what you have,\u201d learn from America\u2019s \u201chistory so you don\u2019t repeat some of the mistakes,\u201d and to find \u201cthe virtues and the courage and the examples of people to learn and live by.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gorsuch then turned his focus to the parents in attendance. He pushed them to use their \u201cvoices\u201d to demand that these foundational principles be taught in their children\u2019s schools and further underscored the importance of a self-governing society. In doing so, he noted that Americans have an obligation to \u201ctake ownership\u201d of the nation they call home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have voices in your schools. Insist they teach history. Insist they teach civics,\u201d Gorsuch said. \u201cYou gotta take ownership of this. At the end of the day, democracy is supply and demand and politicians are responsive. So, I don\u2019t think we can blame others. We have to take ownership of it ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"exAP3FedRVfOJjSK9FESBmwQsDVn45ZhN4qlHZLaXykLtGbzMPB2CnN0Tstu25UU6HJh0qaQYv8ICEYwK\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Speaking about the importance of civic education at the Reagan Library, Justice Gorsuch calls on Americans to take self-governance seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we can blame others. We have to take ownership of it ourselves.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FU58JGWOfE\">pic.twitter.com\/FU58JGWOfE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shawn Fleetwood (@ShawnFleetwood) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\/status\/2051855659117781137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The call to action is similar to the message the justice <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/13\/justice-gorsuch-the-greatest-danger-america-faces-today-is-itself\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gave<\/a> during a Fox News interview last year. Speaking to network host Lawrence Jones about the decline of civic knowledge, Gorsuch warned that \u201cthe greatest danger America faces today\u201d is \u201citself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Declaration\u2019s ideals \u201crequired courageous men, women, and children to make happen in 1776, and they require the same of us today,\u201d Gorsuch said at the time. \u201cThomas Jefferson said an ignorant people will never remain free for long, and he\u2019s right. We need to know our history in order to preserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/america\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">America<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/america-250\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">America 250<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/american-history\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">American history<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/citizenship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">citizenship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/civic-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">civic education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/declaration-of-independence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Declaration of Independence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/neil-gorsuch\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Neil Gorsuch<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/patriotism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Patriotism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/self-governance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">self-governance<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gorsuch urges America: take self-governance and civic lessons seriously<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2599413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Neil-Gorsuch.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36525,5521,38835,19862,32275],"class_list":["post-2599412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-civic-engagement","tag-democracy","tag-public-policy","tag-self-governance","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Neil-Gorsuch.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2599412"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2599416,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599412\/revisions\/2599416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2599413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2599412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2599412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2599412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}