Why Should We Study?

In "A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law" (1765), John Adams admonishes his readers not to presume that the spirit that led to the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 had died out entirely in less than a century. He instead assured his readers that such a spirit still existed, not only in England but in America as well. However, Adams added a warning to his assurance of the spirit's continued life:

This spirit, however, without knowledge, would be little better than a brutal rage. Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.

You can find the last sentence of this quotation now at the top of a large placard advertising the new HBO miniseries about Adams. I saw it today in the post office. Given the general cluelessness of many high school graduates today, I have to wonder how seriously our society takes this admonition. Adams does not simply suggest that we "dare to read, think, speak, and write." He suggests it for a very specific reason, so that we do not descend into brutishness, so that we can be worthy of the political and social liberty that our heritage has bequeathed to us.
As a home-schooling parent and a teacher, I would urge those who read Adams' words to look beyond that one-sentence quotation and read this Founding Father's words in their original context. Should we fail to dare for the reason that Adams proposes and simply dare to descend into self-absorption and trash, we'll find the cause of liberty to be a lost one.