The following list of titles and accompanying dates refers to past postings on the blog, Gravitas: A Voice for Civics Education, that have been deleted. After each title and date, the entries below include the first paragraph of each respective posting. If you care to receive a copy of a particular posting, send your request via email to gravitascivics@gmail.com . One posting per request.
201 “BEES DO IT”
(August 6, 2012)
With this posting, I want to introduce a fairly
important issue regarding federalist thinking.
The most central notion we can derive from federalism, as I have pointed
out before, is not the structural element of different levels of government –
such as the state and central governments here in the US. The most central notion is the idea that
individuals or groups come together and federate with each other under a solemn
agreement of a covenant or a compact.
This level of joining is more binding than a union or arrangement set up
by a contract. In a contract, the
agreement takes on the form of one party agreeing to do something in exchange
for something else. When I travel, for
example, and stop in a motel, the motel and I form an agreement that it will
provide me with a room with certain amenities in exchange for payment of a
rental fee. If my room is not provided
or it lacks the amenities we agreed upon – like a working bathroom – I don't
need to pay. But if the room is
furnished with the amenities, then I must pay or suffer some penalty under law.
202
THE RELIABILITY OF FEDERATION THEORY
(August
10, 2012)
As I have indicated in past postings, Eugene J.
Meehan provides us with criteria by which to evaluate social science theories
and models. I have, to date, written
three evaluative statements regarding federation theory, each focusing on one
of Meehan's criterion. They have been
scope, power, and precision. You are
invited to look up previous postings, clearly titled, and read my evaluation of
federation theory in relation to each of these criteria. With this posting, I want to address another
of Meehan's criteria: reliability.
203 FORMING NEW PARTNERS
(August 13, 2012)
Federalism, more than anything, is about people
coming together to form a political system.
That is, federalism is about people federating with each other. A shorthand way to express this is to say a
people develop a sense of partnership – what is good for one is good for
all. While this might sound and be a bit
idealistic and unattainable, the ideal expressed is something a people can strive
toward. I have argued that in American
political tradition, this perception has been present and significant; that it
once was the underlying sense of what governing and politicking should be
about. Given the strength of this ideal,
I would further argue that its precepts have made their way into public policy,
in varying levels of strength, throughout our history. It still does and we can hear its assumptions
expressed in our national debates. Take
the argument for a national health program.
Those who argue that all should be entitled to quality health care are,
I believe, arguing that by providing such a fundamental need, we as a nation
fulfill a requirement of a meaningful partnership between the nation's
citizenry. Of course, not all agree.
204
DELTA PARTNERS
(August
17, 2012)
What are the responsibilities of a partner? I ask because if one is to take this notion
of being federated with one's fellow citizens seriously, then the obligations
of such an arrangement, or should I write association, should be spelled
out. I believe one way to do that is to
look at the extreme cases – those in which parties are under the most extreme
conditions of need – and try to determine what all our roles, if any, should
be. And once that is addressed, for those
among us who are educators, what should be taught to our students about these
potential obligations?
205
THE ISOMORPHISM OF LIBERATED FEDERALISM
(August
20, 2012)
I
would like, with this posting, to continue my evaluation of federation theory
or liberated federalism construct. For
those of you new to this blog, let me point out quickly that my efforts in this
blog’s postings have been to promote a view of civics which I call federation
theory. To date, the blog has described
and explained the elements of this construct.
And in terms of evaluating it, I have, using Eugene J. Meehan's criteria (Meehan, E. J. (1969). Explanations in social science: A system paradigm. Homewood, IL: The Dorsey Press.),
passed judgment on the theory's scope, power, precision, and reliability (See
the postings of June 29, 2012, July 13, 2012, July 30, 2012, and August 10,
2012 respectively).
This posting will address another of Meehan's concerns.
206
YOUR MAJESTY, USA STYLE
(August
24, 2012)
In a recent op ed piece in the New York Times (Debrabander, F. (2012).
Deluded individualism. New
York Times, August 18, retrieved from the Internet) philosopher,
Firmin Debrabander, writes of an issue I have addressed in this blog. I have argued that the nation has adopted a
radically individualistic construct to guide our thinking when it comes to
governing and politicking. The natural
rights construct promotes a view of the individual as an unobstructed free
agent. Debrabander, relying on the
writings of Sigmund Freud and Barusch Spinoza, argues that we only have the
illusion of being free to choose our courses of action; that, really, we are
far more governed by our emotions, our ids.
The ego, to borrow a metaphor from the piece, is like a rider of a huge
horse – the id – which gets the horse to go in a certain direction only by
convincing the horse that a given direction is its own choice.
207
AND THE GOLD GOES TO ...
(August
27, 2012)
Some time back I had the pleasure of seeing Gore
Vidal's play, The Best Man, on Broadway.
I had seen the movie version years ago – as part of a political science
course. The film starred Henry Fonda and
Cliff Robertson in the leading roles.
Good, but from a purely entertaining point of view, it was a bit
drab. This live production, on the other
hand, was more lively with a lot of humor.
I found the evening well worthwhile and if it is still showing or you
have a chance to see this version of the play, I recommend it.
208
WHO IS THE FATHER OF THE COUNTRY?
(August
31, 2012)
In this blog, especially early on, I made the
extended argument that civics education has been failing at what it should be
doing. I emphasized in that argument
that I did not place the blame, at least not all of the blame, on civics
educators. There are many contributing
factors, but the fact remains we are not doing a very good job in that area of
the curriculum. This message can be
easily lost on us given the general reports coming from the media and the
politicians about how we are falling short in our efforts across the different
subject areas. Our students, we are
told, are not learning math and science or other subjects such as geography. This might be correct, but we must be sure
that within these waves of criticisms we do not lose sight of the importance of
civics and its role in promoting the general health of our society.
209
THE COMPATIBLITY OF LIBERATED FEDERALISM
(September
3, 2012)
As I often do in these postings, I review the
blog's general purposes. I do this
because there might be some who are checking it out for the first time. As the general comment which appears just
above this posting indicates, the foremost purpose is to encourage the readers
to become interested and involved with civics education, particularly as it is
taught in their local secondary schools.
Second, the blog is to present and promote the adoption of a mental
construct suitable to guide our efforts in civics. I call this construct the liberated
federalism construct or federation theory.
I have been arguing that this construct should replace the current
prevailing one, the natural rights construct.
I have, in past postings, described and explained the different elements
of federation theory. I have also,
through a series of postings, attempted to critically review the proposed
construct – see the postings dated June 29, July 13, July 30, August 10, and
August 20, 2012. Each of these postings
utilizes a separate, specific concern from Eugene J. Meehan's criteria
evaluating science theories and models (see Meehan, E. J. (1969).
Explanations in social
science: A system paradigm. Homewood, IL:
The Dorsey Press).
210 LANGUAGE OF PARTNERS
(September 7, 2012)
The President, in his
acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, harped on a concept
that has been central to this blog – citizenship and the social
interconnectedness that idea embodies.
We, as citizens, are interconnected in so many ways that we often become
unconscious of the total reality that interconnectedness encompasses. The President, in his speech, pointed out
some of those ways. It makes for
effective rhetoric because, at a profound level, I believe, we all know of this
interconnectedness yet we live in a time when it has become somewhat cynical to
acknowledge it, voice it, and/or verbally support it.
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