Scott Walker | July 18, 2025

(The Washington Times) — Forty years ago this week, I made my first trip to Washington. It was my honor to serve as one of the two people selected from each state to attend the American Legion Boys Nation program. It is where I first learned that “the why” is more important than “the what” in life.

We were set to meet President Reagan during the week, but his medical team found a cancerous polyp during a routine colonoscopy just before Boys Nation began. The president underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He spent a week recovering before returning to the White House. It was too bad, as he had met with the young men from Boys Nation in the Rose Garden during his previous years in office. This is the same program in which a young Bill Clinton met President John F. Kennedy at the White House in 1963.

Despite the unfortunate turn of events relating to a visit with the president, the rest of the program went very well. Throughout the week, we engaged in debate on proposed legislation as part of a mock Senate, visited the Capitol to meet with members of the House of Representatives and Senate, heard from outstanding speakers and toured the capital city.

The most important things we learned were not about the what but about the why. In particular, the veterans who ran the Boys Nation program took us to visit Arlington National Cemetery, to see the Silent Drill Platoon at the Marine Barracks Washington and to pay our respects at the memorials on the National Mall.

A visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was particularly moving for me. Our senior counselor, Bob Turner from Georgia, had served in Vietnam. Watching him walk along the polished black slabs of granite with the names of more than 58,000 deceased service members, many of whom he had served with, brought tears to my eyes.

These moments helped me understand the why. The veterans and educators who ran the program were focused on helping high school students understand the sacrifices made by so many to preserve the freedoms we hold dear today.

As we head closer to the 250th anniversary of our beloved nation, it is crucial to understand “the why,” not just “the what,” of America.

On July 4, 1776, our nation was founded on the belief that all of us are created equal, that our Creator endowed us with rights and that it is the responsibility of the government to protect these rights. We are a nation based on freedom and self-governance.

It is why our founding document ends with these words: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The 56 delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence believed in the promise of America. That was why they were willing to sacrifice it all.

The Constitution was ratified years later and established the framework for the federal government, detailing the separation of powers among the three branches. The first 10 amendments, commonly known as the Bill of Rights, clearly outline the rights of the governed and the limits of the government. The Constitution tells us what our government can do, while the Declaration of Independence tells us why we are a country.

Critics of our Founders will often mistakenly extend their personal attacks to our founding principles. Although approval of the original Constitution required compromises, approval of the Declaration of Independence cleared the path for later changes to the Constitution that would affirm the rights of all people.

Focusing on “the why” before getting caught up in “the what” has always been important to me. During my first days in office as governor of Wisconsin, I was so focused on fixing things that I overlooked explaining why we were doing what we were doing in my state.

Thankfully, my wife, Tonette, took note and told me to explain the “why” to the people of Wisconsin. Once I began sharing the stories of abuse in the system, citizens started to understand the need for our reforms.

One example came from a young teacher who earned a statewide award for her work, only to be laid off from her position. All of this happened a year before I took office, because of union contracts that said years of employment trumped performance in the classroom.

Once people heard this story, many said, “That’s not right.” They had to understand why we were doing it before they could appreciate what we were doing.

I am grateful to the American Legion for helping me understand their motto: For God and Country. It is why I am proud to be an American. And why I will fight to keep us free.

Scott Walker is a columnist for The Washington Times. He was the 45th governor of Wisconsin and launched a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He lives in Milwaukee and is the proud owner of a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King.