Wednesday, December 20, 2006
What is Civics?
Watch this video of Richard Dreyfus from the TV show HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher
Then watch part two of the video.
How does Mr. Dreyfus describe the purpose of civic education? What other points does he make? Do you agree with him? Why or why not? How are we doing as citizens?
Here are some portions of his talk, transcribed by Steve:
We owe ourselves and the US that we will pass off to our children to re-learn the tools of reason logic clarity dissent civility and debate. And those things are the non-partisan basis of democracy and without them we can kiss this thing goodbye [applause].
What we have to do is get it back.
Civics – the expertise needed to understand western Enlightenment and civil liberties – is not something you’re born with; you have to learn it.
Unless we teach the ideas that make America a miracle in government … it will go away in your kid’s lifetime…
You have to teach it in school. If you don’t you really lose it to fundamentalists of any stripe, you will lose it to stupidity, you will lose it to the darkness.
If it lasts… it will be because we put some effort into teaching what it is – the ideas of America. The idea of opportunity, mobility, freedom of thought, freedom of assembly. And if you don’t teach it, it will go away. And in the middle of the night when the towers fall, we will not say “what am I responsible for?” We will say “tell us what to do.”
Dreyfus: Democracy in any form is only two or three hundred years old.
Maher: No it’s not… they practiced it in Ancient Greece…
Dreyfus: … and it went away for 2000 years.
Then watch part two of the video.
How does Mr. Dreyfus describe the purpose of civic education? What other points does he make? Do you agree with him? Why or why not? How are we doing as citizens?
Here are some portions of his talk, transcribed by Steve:
We owe ourselves and the US that we will pass off to our children to re-learn the tools of reason logic clarity dissent civility and debate. And those things are the non-partisan basis of democracy and without them we can kiss this thing goodbye [applause].
What we have to do is get it back.
Civics – the expertise needed to understand western Enlightenment and civil liberties – is not something you’re born with; you have to learn it.
Unless we teach the ideas that make America a miracle in government … it will go away in your kid’s lifetime…
You have to teach it in school. If you don’t you really lose it to fundamentalists of any stripe, you will lose it to stupidity, you will lose it to the darkness.
If it lasts… it will be because we put some effort into teaching what it is – the ideas of America. The idea of opportunity, mobility, freedom of thought, freedom of assembly. And if you don’t teach it, it will go away. And in the middle of the night when the towers fall, we will not say “what am I responsible for?” We will say “tell us what to do.”
Dreyfus: Democracy in any form is only two or three hundred years old.
Maher: No it’s not… they practiced it in Ancient Greece…
Dreyfus: … and it went away for 2000 years.
# posted by Mr. G : 11:05 PM
