I am not arguing with the main thrust of your article but (News Flash) America is not a Democracy it is a Constitutional Republic.

Many of the voters in the U.S. think that elected officials have their (the voter’s) best interests in mind. They don’t. Consequently, the voters allow them a free hand and rationalize the electeds reasons for doing the things they do. To become a citizen an alien needs to take tests which deal with the Constitution, the way the government works and voting. I doubt that many born in the U.S. could pass those tests.

I agree absolutely. An informed educated electorate is essential to the functioning of a constitutional republic. And, I might add, it should be taught to think as well.

I really don’t understand the “get out the vote” campaigns. Those who need external shoving to go to the polls are usually not the informed interested voters we need. Do we really want uninformed uninterested people determining our next government?

[...] Civic education is more conducive to living in a more democratic America. [...]

>”unaccountable elites will rule in the interests of the rest
>of society.”

Unaccountable elites *do* rule, via PACs, lobbyists, and big business contributions. But alas, it’s definitely *not* in the interest of the rest of society. As a matter of fact, it’s more likely to the detriment of it. The politicians, the business men, and the power brokers laugh behind the backs of the “little people” that make their very existence possible.

>”Callan worries both about the unwarranted trust in
>the capacity of elites to protect democracy and the
>abandonment of hope in the capacity of citizens.

I would “quibble” that the trust is misplaced rather than unwarranted. Whomever presumes that just because someone is an elite, that they are genetically, or otherwise predisposed to protect democracy is committing a ‘leap of faith’ where facts are not in evidence. Most likely, one gets to become an elite by explicitly putting themselves and their interests first, not only to the exclusion of others, but again, sometimes to the detriment of them.

>”Instead, he argues for “rational social hope” in which
>teachers can educate in ways that promote civic virtue.

>Teachers, journalists, political activists, and the like
>must commit to helping to create a citizenry whose
>self-government is adequately grounded in relevant >information, understanding, and civic virtue.

I would contend that it’s not a *teacher’s* job to promote civic virtue. By and large, teachers are confused enough about what their role should be. Teaching of morals should be done at home. “Social consciousness” should be taught at home. Heck *ethics* should be taught at home. It amazes me that we now “have to” have college-level classes in *ethics* for pete’s sake! Teachers attend a one day seminar on ADHD, and consider themselves subject matter experts. Teachers attend a one day seminar on child abuse, and suddenly diagnose every bump and bruise on a child as blatant child abuse. If teachers spent more time *teaching* reading, writing, and math, and instead of telling students to ’sit down and shut up,’ actually *taught* students how to think for themselves, we wouldn’t be looking to *teachers* to mold our children’s minds and opinions. Teach them how to read, research and think for themselves, and they’ll form their own opinions.

Most teachers are flaming left-wing liberals or closet socialists who honestly believe that “it takes a village” crap. Parents wanted the kids, or at least had them. It’s their job to raise them, and to teach them about morals, good/bad, social responsibility, etc. Schools need to concentrate more on skills that help someone function on the job. Civics can teach social awareness, but it shouldn’t be done to the exclusion of the parent’s input. It’s the parents’ “job.”

Teachers have the luxury of ‘hiding out’ within the near-utopian and false environment of academia. The rest of us have to live in the real world.

Most journalists are already trying to direct ’social consciousness’ as opposed to reporting the news. Even news items regarding certain themes have become thinly-veiled op-ed pieces. The journalists have done enough damage, thank you very much. Those who can.. do. Those who can’t become journalists.

Political activist are out there, pushing for their cause, getting the info out there for others to see. It’s a parent’s job to teach their children how to sift through the crap, and ‘unspin’ the spin to find the truth. When one learns to hear someone’s opinion, and filter it through that person’s angle, or prejudice, or ulterior motive, then they’ve really learned something.

>“All citizens who care about good government have to
>care about the competence and commitment of their
>fellow citizens

Maybe the premise in Starship Troopers was more correct. Just because someone drew breath and reached adulthood did not entitle them to vote. They had to commit, they act to make conscious acts to become a ‘citizen’ with the right to vote. They had to make conscious contributions to society in order to have the right to vote. If you have someone who’s never had a job, has been on the public dole all their lives, and has never made a contribution to society, how do you think they’ll vote? They’ll vote for anyone who promises to allow them to continue their freeloading lifestyle, and against anyone who suggests that they ought to have to raise a finger to actually *do* anything to get help.

We’re already at the ‘bread and circuses’ level. Anyone who thinks that ‘wealth redistribution’ doesn’t mean taking from those that worked to earn it, and giving it to the freeloaders that didn’t, isn’t dealing with reality. My son told me of a sociology professor who said in class, that the inheritance tax ought to be 100%. Everything left behind when a man dies ought to be returned to the state, so that the state can redistribute it to those in need. He went on to say that the man owed the very opportunity to prosper, to the state, and that therefore he was only giving back what the state ‘gave’ him in the first place. This guy had tenure. This guy had credentials. This guy had “bawls.” THAT’S the kind of drivel being passed on by our “educators.” There are so many holes in that assertion I don’t even want to waste the time to pick it apart point-by-point.

Parents, do your job, so others don’t feel the need, and don’t have to. Stop teaching your child that everything that they do and say is perfectly fine with the rest of the world. It’s not. Teach them about success *and* about failure. There’s lots of it to go around. The rest of the world isn’t standing in line to hand them blue stars for “close enough.” In the real world, people are left behind. Parents, do your job, so others don’t feel the need, and don’t have to.