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That’s not what civics classes are about, unless the goal is nationalistic propaganda, Governor @BillLeeTN
What does Governor Lee mean by “American exceptionalism”?
Maybe that “The U.S. is not just a bigger and more powerful country — but an exception. It is the bearer of freedom and liberty, and morally superior to something called ‘Europe’."
google.com/amp/s/theweek.…
Maybe that “The U.S. is not just a bigger and more powerful country — but an exception. It is the bearer of freedom and liberty, and morally superior to something called ‘Europe’."
google.com/amp/s/theweek.…
“In the wake of 9/11, the speeches of George W. Bush and his supporters asserted the radical distinctiveness of the U.S. with a new belligerence...It is ‘our freedoms’ that Islamic terrorists hated; they wished to kill Americans because they envied this exceptional inheritance.”
“U.S. foreign policy would probably be more effective if Americans were less convinced of their own unique virtues and less eager to proclaim them.”
foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/the…
foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/the…
“Nothing is more vexing to foreigners than Americans’ belief that America is a shining city on a hill — a place apart where a better way of life exists, one to which all other peoples should aspire.” @pewresearch 2006
pewresearch.org/2006/05/09/the…
pewresearch.org/2006/05/09/the…
Civics, on the other hand, explores how democratic processes work and how to engage with them, as well as the role and responsibility of citizens in a democracy.
And our K-12 educational system has let a bunch of us down.
And our K-12 educational system has let a bunch of us down.
To preserve and protect our democracy requires an understanding of its roots.
For example, most Americans think undocumented immigrants do not have any rights under the U.S. Constitution. But they do.
annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-…
For example, most Americans think undocumented immigrants do not have any rights under the U.S. Constitution. But they do.
annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-…
More than a third don’t know any of the rights protected by the First Amendment. And 26% can’t name the three branches of government.
And 2-in-5 “support allowing Congress to stop the news media from reporting on any issue of national security without government approval.”
And 2-in-5 “support allowing Congress to stop the news media from reporting on any issue of national security without government approval.”
This is why civics education is needed.
Not to indoctrinate but to empower: to assemble, to testify, to petition, to run for office, to reject demagoguery.
To speak truth to power.
Not to indoctrinate but to empower: to assemble, to testify, to petition, to run for office, to reject demagoguery.
To speak truth to power.
One more thing, @BillLeeTN :
Jesus was a Jew who preached a doctrine of selflessness that many today would characterize as “socialist.” He aligned himself with the poor, the hungry, the sick. And he argued that everyone is a ‘neighbor’ in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus was a Jew who preached a doctrine of selflessness that many today would characterize as “socialist.” He aligned himself with the poor, the hungry, the sick. And he argued that everyone is a ‘neighbor’ in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
