In love of home, the love of country has its rise. — The Old Curiosity Shop

My Take – When you teach your children to respect you and the rules you set in your home, they learn to respect others and the law.  The parts of our society that seem to have the biggest problem with crime are the ones where the home is broken.  One parent is just plain not there, families are three generations into dependency on the state, and education, respect, hard work, and ethical behavior are not only not taught and demonstrated, but are sometimes denigrated.

Likewise, when you demonstrate how to be a good citizen to your children, they will know how to act when it is their turn at the ballot box, or when jury duty comes around, or when the nation needs young men and women to defend it.  If you give to charity in time, treasure, and talent, then they will know that it is the duty of those who have more to aid those who have less.*  If you don’t teach service to your children when they are young, how can you expect them to be of service to you when you are old?

*You’ll notice I said ‘duty’, which is different from ‘legal responsibility’.