Aragon’s Stories Insightful, Inspiring

By Justin Wilmeth

1787 Society Vice President

 

The July meeting of the 1787 Society has come and gone. Were you able to join us? Hopefully so! But if not, here’s a recap of what you missed.

First, you should save the date for September 19^th. That’s when the 1787 Society will be celebrating Constitution Day with the Oklahoma Christian University Academy of Leadership & Liberty. The event begins at 10 a.m. Keep an eye out for more information on this event.

Now, on to our featured speaker at the July meeting. We were honored to have none other than Rita Aragon in our midst, sharing her life story with us and filling us in on the newest chapter in life, serving as the Veterans Affairs Secretary for Gov. Mary Fallin. She has quite the resume to back up that nomination. Sec. Aragon is a retired Major General in the Air National Guard, serving our nation from 1979-2006. She first enlisted before gaining her commission through the Academy of Military Science in 1981. Over the years, she rose in the ranks up to her two-star status, an impressive feat considering she didn’t start her military career until her 30s. She was the first female Brigadier General ever in the history of the Air National Guard and she was named to command of the Oklahoma Air National Guard before retirement.

As said before, Gov. Fallin named her to the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and she is the first woman to ever hold the position. Sec. Aragon’s role in the Governor’s cabinet is to oversee and administer the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. During the 1787 meeting, Aragon elaborated on some of the challenges she’s seeing in the state as Secretary. She shared the plight of our brave Oklahoma veterans and what she’s trying to do to improve the living conditions for all of our retired vets. She also told us about her struggles as a single mom transitioning from a career in teaching to a career in the military.

Sec. Aragon was an absolute delight to have at our monthly meeting. Her stories were insightful and funny, but also poignant. She wrapped up the meeting talking about what we can do to help our vets and ensure they are comfortable and taken care of properly. The video she showed at the end was emotional and made me even more proud of all those who have volunteered to serve our great land and defend our wonderful freedoms.

Thanks again to Sec. Aragon for sharing part of her Friday with us!

Independence Day

By Emily Burner

1787 Board Member

“God bless America, land that I love.” Words cannot describe the feeling of hearing this song sung by a multitude of people at our nation’s Capitol on the Fourth of July. This year, our country turned 235 years old. How neat to be able to go to America’s birthday party in Washington, D.C. Yet another item checked off my bucket list. And this year, I got to hear some of my favorite performers sing at the annual A Capitol Fourth concert! For me, this was an especially momentous occasion because I grew up watching this concert on TV almost every year we were home on the Fourth. To be there in-person…Wow!

The most poignant moment was hearing Oklahoma’s own Kelli O’Hara sing God Bless America. What a beautiful voice for such a meaningful song. I was reminded of the popular phrase in The Declaration of Independence - the document that gave us the Fourth of July: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“Pursuit of Happiness” - this can mean different things to different people. However, we must have freedom to pursue. Freedom to worship, freedom to choose what is best for our families, freedom in how we use our talents, freedom to enjoy blessings. But how do we ensure these freedoms?

It would be 11 years after The Declaration of Independence was written when we would have the framework for ensuring these freedoms - The Constitution. It’s the structure for how the government of the United States of America should work - “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address)

Yet as with many things, there can be too much. Today, we certainly see too much government. We must consider: In what areas are our freedoms being taken away? Where does someone else dictate our lives? This growth of government can be hard to see in our normal way of living - it’s a gradual change from generation to generation. We must think outside the box. Look to history: in what ways have we improved? Where do we need to change and move forward? Where do we need to back-track? How do we get back to the basics? However, we must be careful…ironically it will take government to solve the problem of ‘too much government.’ It will need to strip itself of some of its power and let go. It will not be easy.

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” - Ronald Reagan

And so, a week after celebrating our nation’s birthday, where do we go from here in order to ensure we can continue to celebrate from year to year? We can’t take our freedoms for granted. We must remain vigilant…take an active role in stopping this progression of too much government. This nation was fought for…let’s make sure it wasn’t fought for in vain. “The rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air.” The sight of fireworks at the Washington monument brought so many thoughts and emotions of what the Lord has blessed us with. I leave you with a picture, and I encourage everyone to go to D.C. at least once on the Fourth of July. Soak up the experience. It’s incredible.

The June 1787 Meeting: What You Missed

By Justin Wilmeth

1787 Society Vice President

If you were unable to make it to the June meeting of the 1787 Society, then shame on you!

Kidding. We know you’re a busy, young professional and sometimes joining us just isn’t possible. But fear not, the 1787 Society blog will keep you updated on our monthly meetings and other events as we move forward. Make sure you bookmark this page and keep up with the 1787 Society online.

Now, for the June meeting. We were honored to have Representative Jason Nelson as our guest speaker. He serves District 87, which covers a small piece of Northwest Oklahoma City just south of Lake Hefner. He has served in the state House of Representatives since 2008.

The 2011 legislative session was busy and Rep. Nelson was kind enough to give us a full report on the happenings under the dome this past spring. There were many issues addressed in the last session, but the subject of education and education reform seemed to make the most progress. Rep. Nelson shared with us his take on the reforms made this year, including such revolutionary measures as Senate Bill 969, which will create an equal opportunity scholarship to enhance competition between public and private schools. He also mentioned the abolition of Trial de Novo, which made it hard for schools to get rid of poor-performing teachers. Rep. Nelson addressed other measures related to education, including the grading of our schools (House Bill 1456) and giving more control to our state school superintendent (HB 2139). All of those measures have already been signed into law by Governor Mary Fallin.

The meeting was very informative and insightful. We are thankful that Rep. Nelson shared part of his Friday talking to us about education reform and state legislative matters. The topic of education is one that impacts each segment of society, whether you’re in school or not, or have a child in school or not. The next generation of great Americans are scattered across elementary schools all over this nation. It’s up to us to ensure that their education is the best in the world so that when it’s their time to run the country they are capable of doing so.

Thanks again to Rep. Nelson for a great luncheon and the informative talk.