In my Civics class, we discussed the various branches and levels of government, how legislation was processed, serving on juries, and of course the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. The Declaration is a pretty impressive document, but to me, the Constitution is one of the most brilliant inventions ever devised by man, particularly when you consider the political climate of the time when it was written. Its three branches of government, with its checks and balances, was a bold experiment, yet, when you read it, you are struck by the simple common sense embodied within it.
James Madison is generally regarded as the "Father of the Constitution" as he took the lead in its development. Madison's education concentrated on such subjects as languages, philosophy, and speech. His studies also included a few law classes, but he never gained admission to the bar. So, here you have the principal author of our government's most important document who is more skilled in communications than in law. This is in sharp contrast to today's Congressmen who are more likely to be lawyers as opposed to any other occupation. Consider this, the original U.S. Constitution was written on just four pages, less the Bill of Rights which was handled separately. Admittedly, these were rather large pages by today's standards, but it was still four pages in length. Compare this to the recent Health Insurance Reform Bill which was over 2,000 pages long; even the summary was 121 pages. It kind of makes you wonder what today's Congress would have produced had they been charged with Madison's responsibility. I can't help but believe I would prefer the simplicity and directness of Madison's version instead.
As an aside, I find it rather strange the Constitution has become an icon associated with conservatism in this country. It should be a symbol for all of us.
One of the most important lessons stressed in my Civics class was the need for people to become active and responsible citizens. It didn't preach disobedience, treachery or anarchy, although this was certainly described. Instead, it discussed the duties of the citizens such as enacting changes through peaceful means, e.g., the ballot box. When I go to my polling station today, I get the uneasy feeling that a lot of people do not know what they're doing there and what they should be voting for or against. To me, this is downright scary.
As I've mentioned in the past, people take their civic responsibilities too lightly. Most are uneducated. In the absence of a bona fide Civics class, people should be required to at least pass the citizenship test as published by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
More than anything, our Civics class taught us that citizenship is something to be prized, and not taken for granted. Unfortunately, I don't think it's this way anymore, which is why we have a general flippant attitude towards government and a belief that "someone else is pulling the strings." Interestingly, it is the American public that still pulls the strings, but with the passing of such things as Civic classes, we've forgotten how to do it.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
For Tim's columns, see:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
We have an expression we use around the office whenever we discuss a new idea and someone impulsively acts on it without first thinking it through, we call it "backing up the truck." This came about several years ago when we were discussing a publicity idea to promote our I.T. related products. Basically, we were thinking of writing a series of white papers on various subjects and mailing them to our customers and key contacts in the industry (e-mail was still in its infancy). At the time, everyone at the meeting agreed it was a good idea but we should sleep on it over the weekend. However, one of our guys took the initiative of calling a paper supplier and, lo and behold, on Monday morning a delivery truck backed up to our offices with a couple of skids of paper. We were all bewildered why the person ordered the paper before a decision had actually been made, hence the expression.
In all of my travels, I often run into companies who ask the same question, "Why can't we get our act together? Why does Project Management routinely fail in our company?"
Glenn Beck of the Fox News Channel has attracted considerable attention lately, not necessarily for what he has said, but for the advertising boycott of his show. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was the latest to sign his company up for the boycott. Whether it has truly had an adverse affect on Beck and Fox from a financial point of view is yet to be seen, but the boycott seems to have had little effect on their ratings which remains strong. It even seems the greater the outcry against Beck, the greater his numbers rise as more people tune in just out of curiosity as to what all the hubbub is about. This makes you wonder if boycotting truly works or if it can backfire on you.
I have never had much use for birthdays, a rather barbaric custom we invented to remind ourselves how old we're getting. I don't know about you, but I didn't have a heck of a lot to say about being born. It seems this is something parents should be celebrating rather than their offspring. Aside from my wedding anniversary, the only other holidays that have any meaning to me are Mothers Day and Fathers Day.
Back in 1994, the Republicans in Congress led a movement to implement sweeping government reforms in what was called a "Contract with America." This was a clever political ploy by the party to elect congressmen and, to their credit, they delivered on their promises. Whether you agreed with them or not is immaterial, the "contract" concept captivated the public's imagination as the politicians felt compelled to comply with it. Perhaps it is time to implement another "Contract with America," not so much to enact any particular legislation but to enforce how our politicians will act and behave while serving in office. Think about it, aside from their oath of office and the congressional rules by which they operate, there currently isn't anything committing an elected official to how he will represent his constituents. Polls tell us the American public believes government is broken and, consequently, have lost faith in their elected leaders. A formal contract would go a long way towards reestablishing trust.
I had a friend who used to be very class conscious when it came to work. He wouldn't socialize with other people he deemed below him and was very choosy when it came to where he lived. If the wrong class of workers were in the neighborhood, he wouldn't visit the area (let alone move into it). It had nothing to do with race or religion, only the types of jobs people had. In his mind, there was a clear delineation between people based strictly on their livelihood; e.g., blue collar labor, technical people, middle management, professional people, and executives. I guess we are all a little class conscious about how people make a living, a kind of one-upmanship, but I never saw it quite this vividly before.