Freedom Isn’t Free

By Carolyn Martin, CHEC Director of Government Relations

Freedom was bought at great cost to those who bravely sacrificed to obtain and sustain it. The thirteen colonies fought a war to achieve something no other people in the history of the world had — the birthing of a nation conceived in liberty. Our country is constantly under attack because of the freedom we possess. Once again, we find ourselves at odds with the ideal of the God-inspired vision of a free nation. Can it withstand the ambitions of men, the lies foisted on our collective conscience, the undermining of our first principles, and the turning away from our Creator? Will our homeschool law survive?

One of the significant assaults on the freedom of parents to carry out their biblical responsibility to teach and disciple their children has come through compulsory school attendance law. By the early twentieth century, all states mandated attendance in government schools, with some exceptions. It wasn’t until over half a century after this assault on the family began that courageous parents stepped out to regain freedom over their children’s education. In 1973, Colorado was seen as one of the top ten worst states to home educate your children. While school districts could give parents permission to homeschool, some would flat out deny any requests to do so.

Despite the real possibility of going to jail and the threat of having their children taken from their home by the state, pioneering homeschool families in Colorado would not succumb to the pressure to put their children in government schools. For them homeschooling was not just a mere choice or preference, they were acting in obedience to God. In 1988, God led them to pursue a homeschool law that enables us to freely home educate our children today.

It’s been 246 years since our founders declared independence from Great Britain. Many have forgotten the price it cost and were never taught the uniqueness and richness of our nation’s government which was established in liberty. In much the same way, many old and new homeschoolers do not comprehend the sacrifices made to ensure our ability to freely home educate in Colorado. CHEC fights to keep homeschooling free from government control because we never want to go back to having to ask permission to do what God granted us the responsibility of doing. We will never stop being grateful for those who came before us because we know that freedom isn’t free — there is always a cost to be paid.

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” (Commonly attributed to Thomas Jefferson.)

Stand with us! Help wherever you can. Sign up for my prayer emails and donate here. May God continue to be faithful to sustain our freedom and let us stay vigilant in guarding His gift of liberty!

In need of His wisdom and grace daily,

Carolyn Martin,

CHEC Director of Government Relations

About the Author: Carolyn Martin

Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates here, learn more about legal issues in Colorado here, and donate to support Homeschool Freedom here. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.