Happy 4th of July!

" What matters is not what we believe the Founders' intent was in relation to today's political battles, but using the framework they left to figure it out for ourselves instead of lazily saying that is how it would have been done in 1776" Ryan Blethen

 In today's Seattle Times, editor Ryan Blethen touches on an important topic in his editorial titled, A Strong United States needs Citizens Educated in History and Civics.

Many political scientists, historians and sociologists recognize that opportunities to learn skills of social action are almost entirely missing from U.S. schools and colleges. Blethen noted that The American Council of Trustees and Alumni found "less than 15 percent of the colleges and universities it surveyed require a survey class in American history or government. Students can graduate from any of the schools in U.S. News & World Report's top 20 without taking a course in American history or government." 

The result? In Latte's humble opinion, the average American demonstrates little respect or tolerance for competing political viewpoints and often fails to consider the actual need for political reform by other affected populations within our society. In fact, many Americans will publicly voice opposition or support for a particular legislative program, like health insurance reform, without actually taking the time to understand the purpose of the legislation. Hence, I believe that ignorance about the way our system of government is designed to operate and the basic absence of social skills is the root cause of political deadlock, not opposing political ideology.

Regarding the lack of social skills in America, the Education Policy Blog  states, "Because of this, (lack of skills) even very small increases in the number of sites where these skills might be learned would represent, in percentage terms, an enormous move forward. Imagine if only 1% of all high-poverty schools in America pursued robust efforts to teach their students to act collectively against oppression. I believe this could make a significant impact on the present and future empowerment of them as individuals and of their communities." 

Indeed, the basic lack of understanding of civics in this nation allows polarized members of the media and an array of self-interested power brokers to use fear and anger to motivate poorly educated Americans into opposing badly needed policy reform.  

To punctuate this point, Ryan Blethen writes, "When I hear the Founders' argument, I roll my eyes and wonder how much those people really know about our nation's history. Can they wax eloquent about the Alien and Sedition Acts? Or is their knowledge of that explosive time no more than the image of George Washington standing boldly at the bow of a boat crossing the Delaware River?"

Blethen also stated, "Contemporary political arguments might lead people not too familiar with early American history or civics to believe that the Founders would have viewed health-care reform as in infringement on individual rights, or banking reform, or immigration. Really? In reality, who knows? And who cares? It matters little how the Founders would have come down on current issues..."

Latte Republic is thrilled to see editors of long-established newspapers like the Seattle Times printing articles about some of the root causes of voter apathy and political polarization in America.

Link to Ryan Blethen's full Seattle Times editorial  opinion article
A Strong United States Needs Citizens Educated in History and Civics 

Parents: Want to increase your child's understanding of how government works and how laws are made? Former  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner recommends visiting icivics.org .

Thank you, Ryan, for a timely editorial and Happy birthday America!