On 7/17/02 1:12 AM, "Doug" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Maybe its greatness is in part due to the citizen's faith and belief >> in their country and the precepts listed in the pledge.... > > Hmmm, do you mean its greatness is due to us drumming it into our > children at a young age that we are great? > > Doug
Doug, I came across this article a little while back, and I do think it touches a lot of points that come up when discussing what exactly do we teach our kids about being a nation. http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_3_the_civic.html Here is the opening paragraph... The Civic Education America Needs Victor Davis Hanson All countries seek to inculcate their youth with values that reflect and enhance their national culture--sometimes with horrific results, such as the goose-stepping Hitler Youth or head-nodding madrassas in the Middle East. America used to welcome the contest of ideas against such closed autocracies�fighting not with their forced demonstrations and coerced sloganeering, but by teaching each generation the nature of elected government, the singularity of Western freedom, and the importance of consensual law. The idea of civic education was that to survive in an often hostile world as well as to keep our democracy vibrant, free Americans had not only to be materially successful but also had to learn in the very first years of school those self-evident truths on which our unique country rests�unlike almost all other nations, which are founded on a shared race, religion, or birthplace. It's a long article so get ready for a good time... Matthew Bos
