Sharon McMahon is an Instagram star with more than a million followers. Her podcast, Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, is among the most listened-to in the country. It provides stories about important people throughout history that many have probably never heard of, such as the little-known Gouverneur Morris, who penned the “We the People” preamble to the Constitution.

The history-altering impact of the anonymous was McMahon’s emphasis as she addressed thousands of so-called “governerds” at the Utah Valley University’s UCCU Events Center. McMahon keynoted UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studiesfall civics-educator conference organized by the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative.

“America’s Government Teacher,” as she is frequently called, challenged her audience to recognize their own power, remember past lessons, and make a difference today.

 “Remember his second inaugural address: ‘There are people actively fighting each other during the civil war,’” said McMahon. She continued the quote – “’with malice towards none and charity for all. Let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.’” McMahon emphasizes the power of every individual to make a difference.

“The people Lincoln was speaking to were ordinary Americans just like me and just like you. They were literally working day in and day out to put food on the table. They were the people that they were waiting for. There was no one coming. It was up to them. The same is true for us today. We are the people we have been waiting for. It’s not somebody in the marble halls of Congress or a billionaire with an X app. That’s not who it is. It’s us. It’s every single one of us who wakes up in the morning and refuses to believe the insidious lie that creeps into our brain that wants us to believe that we are nobody and we are nothing, and what we do does not matter … We must refuse to believe it. We have to have hope that what we do matters, and hope is a choice. Hope is not a feeling. We must choose to have hope. We have to have courage that who we are becoming matters.”

McMahon said there is a persistent idea that what we do doesn’t matter, and that causes people to do nothing. But as she explained, her research shows it only takes as few as 40 – 300 emails and phone calls from constituents to change the minds of government leaders and influence policy.

“We owe our allegiance to others as Americans, not to a leader. We owe our allegiance to America and not a party, and we have reached a decision point in this country – the amount of hammering and mudslinging in American politics, I don’t think it's just exhausting. I think it’s morally wrong.” McMahon said.  “It is morally wrong for us to be behaving this way. It’s time to hold ourselves to a higher standard. It’s time to hold our elected officials to a higher standard. Our current strategy is not working. It's time for us to do something different. It is time to walk out of the darkness of descension and disinformation and, with boldness and with courage, and with hope, choose the light of truth. Truth is often inconvenient, by the way, but it always sets us free.”

She said the question that must be answered isn’t if a difference can be made but where it will be made.

 “It is time for us to decide what kind of difference to make.  It’s not ‘Will what I do matter?’ What you do matters, so it is time to choose how you want it to matter what kind of difference you want it to make.”

“My goal as a parent is to have malice toward none, charity for all, and for each day to work to help America grow into its potential of being just, peaceful, good, and free because that is all of our jobs.”

McMahon left the audience with the words of George Washington, who envisioned a nation that would stand as an example to the world. “‘It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and great nation to give to mankind. The example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.’ It will be a gift that we can give the world to be a people always guided by justice and benevolence. That is the vision they cast with their shoeless armies. If that was the vision they can imagine, what we could do.”