A Crucial Element of Democracy

This is a blog by Robert Gutierrez ...
While often taken for granted, civics education plays a crucial role in a democracy like ours. This Blog is dedicated to enticing its readers into taking an active role in the formulation of the civics curriculum found in their local schools. In order to do this, the Blog is offering a newer way to look at civics education, a newer construct - liberated federalism or federation theory. Daniel Elazar defines federalism as "the mode of political organization that unites separate polities within an overarching political system by distributing power among general and constituent governments in a manner designed to protect the existence and authority of both." It depends on its citizens acting in certain ways which Elazar calls federalism's processes. Federation theory, as applied to civics curriculum, has a set of aims. They are:
*Teach a view of government as a supra federated institution of society in which collective interests of the commonwealth are protected and advanced.
*Teach the philosophical basis of government's role as guardian of the grand partnership of citizens at both levels of individuals and associations of political and social intercourse.
*Convey the need of government to engender levels of support promoting a general sense of obligation and duty toward agreed upon goals and processes aimed at advancing the common betterment.
*Establish and justify a political morality which includes a process to assess whether that morality meets the needs of changing times while holding true to federalist values.
*Emphasize the integrity of the individual both in terms of liberty and equity in which each citizen is a member of a compacted arrangement and whose role is legally, politically, and socially congruent with the spirit of the Bill of Rights.
*Find a balance between a respect for national expertise and an encouragement of local, unsophisticated participation in policy decision-making and implementation.
Your input, as to the content of this Blog, is encouraged through this Blog directly or the Blog's email address: gravitascivics@gmail.com .
NOTE: This blog has led to the publication of a book. The title of that book is TOWARD A FEDERATED NATION: IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL CIVICS STANDARDS and it is available through Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

HEALTHY OR NOT SO HEALTHY

Since the November 11, 2016 posting, Why?, this writer has been reviewing some of the factors that influenced our last presidential election.  In doing so, he has relied on an article by George Packer[1] for the information on which these postings were based.  In general, the article and the postings placed a heavy emphasis on the disaffection of the white working class.  Their estrangement is mostly based on the loss of manufacturing jobs due to national and global labor markets that provide manufacturing firms cheap(er) labor options.  There is also automation.
          This segment of the electorate was considered, in years past, the base of the Democratic Party.  Their disaffection began with the Reagan presidency – reference to the Reagan Democrats.  With Donald Trump’s direct appeal to them and his promise of bringing back the jobs, Hillary Clinton lost a handful of “blue” states:  Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  In all, the difference, among these states, amounted to about 70,000 votes and enough electoral votes to give Trump the victory.  These “unconnected” voters cost her the win.
          Other related factors were explained:  Clinton’s ineffective messaging and, unfortunately, a racial element that was/is directed against immigrants and African-Americans.  To the extent this is true – this racism – is the extent to which the Democrats have a daunting challenge.  And it’s at this point that this writer must betray his intent.  The exercise to review the election was motivated by illustrating the need for federalist thinking among our citizenry and among our efforts in civics and government classes.
          In describing this concern, it should be pointed out that a healthy federal union should promote and support a healthy conservative-liberal debate.  Each of these ideological positions represents honest and legitimate interests that participating entities in the union bring to the political table.  Those who support individual liberty, economic, entrepreneurial interests, and traditional social dispositions need to be heard and listened to.  The same can be said for those who support egalitarian aims, workers’ interests, and diverse social-cultural dispositions.
          These are opposing political camps and a healthy political environment allows for its politics to withstand the give and take between these two segments of the electorate.  It’s what makes up honest political debate over the issues and policy questions of the day.  But when one or both sides begin to radicalize their arguments; when they begin to argue past each other; when they engage in obscure and dishonest practices – fake news for example – then the politics become unhealthy, un-federal, and dangerous.
          This blog has dedicated a great many words to describing and explaining the current problems facing civics education – those problems that relate to the content of the civics curriculum.  Generally, it has made the argument that such instruction has promoted a natural rights construct and, in turn, has enabled a shift toward an extreme individualistic social and political discourse and policy orientation.  This writer cannot escape the observation that the winner of the election, at least in style, catered to that extremism.
          He constantly reminded his audience that he represents the best in whatever topic the campaign brought up.  This blog has avoided expressing direct political preferences, but in this case, the facts are what they are and there is no way to avoid how thoroughly the president-elect demonstrates negatively the concerns of this blog.  Hopefully, all of that reflected on the part of his campaign an understanding of how individualistic the electorate has become and, in order to win, how necessary it was to reflect that style and disposition in the images and language that were used in the campaign.
          Irrespective of how one aligns in relation to the conservative-liberal debate, one has a challenge: to help the nation return to a healthier discourse.  Packer refers to the current discourse as reflecting a tribal mentality – oh, if it were so communal.  Trump’s nationalist rhetoric is not geared toward a nationalistic target.  It is geared to that displaced, disaffected, unconnected individual.  And what is needed is a way to re-federate the electorate.  Of course, this blog is dedicated to civics education’s role in this, but more is needed.
          Should Democrats cooperate with Trump when the soon to be president strives to create jobs through infrastructure investments or should they play the role that Republicans played during Obama’s years and oppose everything the administration proposed?  The former is the federated option; the latter is the natural rights, self-serving option.  The road to healthier politics is long and fraught with short-term sacrifices.  Hopefully, both parties can now see the consequences of short-term politics and choose the healthier path.




[1] George Packer, “The Unconnected,” The New Yorker 92, no. 35 (2016):  48-61.

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