The Madison Youth Project

Received from Jim Ryun of the Madison Youth Project:

I am excited to share with you a new endeavor I am involved with. I have accepted the position of Chairman of the Madison Youth Project (MYP), which promotes conservative ideals, to raise up a generation prepared and positioned to lead in the future – it is pro-family, pro-life and pro-growth. I would like to invite you to join the team!

The youth of our Nation is an important element to its success and this project is specifically designed to equip and train students ages 13-19 to be the next leaders of our Country. One of the most profound lessons I learned while serving five terms in the United States House of Representatives was the importance of a continued education in our conservative ideals. We must be proactive in seizing every opportunity to learn how our Founding Fathers constructed the foundation that our democracy has been built on.

America is a great nation, built on enduring ideals and a commitment to democracy and freedom unmatched by any other nation. We have a rich heritage of strong values. We have championed democracy around the world, bringing freedom to millions beyond our borders.

However, since the 1960’s, too many Americans have bought into a misguided liberalism and secular humanism that promotes rights and ignores responsibilities – that promotes socialism and rejects free markets – that promotes big government and weakens the family. Theirs is a debased view of freedom, which seeks radical individual autonomy, demands individual rights and rejects the notion of individual responsibility to the community.

I believe that our nation has a bright future – and that future depends on a government committed to strong families, to a strong defense and to a strong economy. However, our freedom cannot survive without public policy based on a commitment to individual responsibility and free markets. I am committed to help raise up a generation of youth who are grounded in this conservative philosophy and therefore, prepared to lead.

You ask, “How can I get involved in this great cause that will make a difference in our Country”?

I am proud to announce an outstanding new online classroom, the Madison Academy. Classes will begin in January 2009 and two online courses will be offered, “The Elements of Freedom” taught by Dr. Stacey, an Associate Professor in Regent University’s Robertson School of Government, and “Founding Fathers and Founding Documents” taught by Dr. Erik S. Root, an Assistant Professor at West Liberty State College in West Virginia. Please click here for a complete description of the courses. Click here to register for a class.

These classes will be accessible to you through purchasing a one year membership with the Madison Youth Project for the cost of just $25 per individual. With that membership fee comes the ability to register for one of the online classes. If you’d like to take both classes, it will be an additional $25. This is an exceptional opportunity for young people to learn more about our nation from two very talented PhDs. Registration is not age limited. For those of you who are “young at heart” and looking for a challenge, I welcome you to register for one or both classes.

An important element of the Madison Youth Project is the opportunity to participate in activities that will put the knowledge learned from the Academy into action. There will be MYP Action Teams, helping youth engage in political outreaches. There are also the MYP Clubs. These clubs meet on a monthly basis and involve students in their local communities (i.e. local campaigns, community outreach projects, volunteer service at soup kitchens or retirement homes, etc). To learn more about how to become a member of a club or to start your own club, please click here.

Another way in which you can become involved is to make a financial contribution to the Madison Youth Project. If you would like to do so, you can make a tax deductible contribution to the Madison Youth Education Fund which will help fund the online courses. Would you be willing to make a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or $250 to MYP?

I need your help to promote this amazing endeavor of directing our youth and those who are “young at heart” to make a difference in our Nation! This election year has awakened many throughout the country to the necessity of knowing exactly who we are as Americans and what sets us apart as a great Nation.