Talk about a generation gap. Analyzing the understanding of America's fundamental freedoms has brought a profound differing of perspective to light. Our forefather's fought for these freedoms but our children don't understand them.

Only half of high school students surveyed in a recent poll said newspapers should be allowed to publish without government approval of stories and more than one in three students said the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees.

Something has gone terribly wrong with our educational system if today's youth and tomorrow's leaders believe the Constitution goes "too far" in promising freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly.

Nearly three in four students said they took the First Amendment for granted, didn't know how they felt about it or didn't understand it at all.

The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut, is billed as the largest of its kind. More than 100,000 students, nearly 8,000 teachers and more than 500 administrators at 544 public and private high schools took part in early 2004.

The results show that we all have our work cut out for us.

Every citizen, every teacher and every parent must go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that youth realize what the founders of this great country were fighting for and what our soldiers are still fighting, and dying, for even today.

Please, take a few minutes each week to explain to your children or grandchildren what the U.S. Constitution means to us and what it means to them. Allowing the understanding of fundamental need for these freedoms to become weakened can undermine our entire nation and the foundations of Democracy far more than any group of gun-wielding terrorists.

If you need to show someone how important these freedoms are, simply turn your television to CNN and show them the faces filled with absolute joy and jubilation as Iraqis cast their first votes for Democracy in decades.

Because truly, these people are voting for the very same freedoms that we all must fight to never take for granted.