Radical Centrist Merit Badge Designed by : Peggy Nelson . . . Purpose : As Scouts fulfill the requirement for this merit badge, they will learn the essentials of Radical Centrist philosophy and how to apply its principles to their everyday lives. Scouts will learn how to identify Democrats and Republicans who actually have character and a sense of right and wrong and distinguish what they do from the propaganda that the major parties and the mass media often make use of to seek to mislead people. Scouts will also learn how to be as objective as possible in making political choices and what it takes to actually be honest in politics. Finally, Scouts will learn how to recognize valid alternatives to politics-as-usual and how to best try and promote useful new ideas, . . Radical Centrist Merit Badge Requirements . 1. Explain the official political views of Democrats and Republicans and how they differ from the reality of politics. Use specific examples not just generalities . 2. Select two of the following and explain the official views of the political parties you select and how they differ from how these parties operate in the real world ; specific examples please. . A. Libertarian Party B. Green Party C. Constitution Party D. Socialist Party E. Peace and Freedom Party . . 3. Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row. Discuss multiple points of view of the national issues you learned about with your counselor. How are political news stories interpreted differently by different TV news people or journalists ? Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family. . 4. Discuss each of the following magazines with your counselor. Tell your counselor how you feel politics in the United States might be different without each one. You will need to actually do some reading of articles in these publications until you feel sure about the political viewpoints of each. . The Atlantic National Review The Nation Commentary Reason . . 5. Visit the Real Clear Politics website. Look into the Political section for a week, actually read a few article each day. Why do you think that the editors strive to showcase articles from a variety of political viewpoints ? . 6. View C-Span television on three different weekends for 2 hours each Saturday and two hours each Sunday. What is your impression of C-Span ? What is the value in presenting a variety of political viewpoints on TV ? In what ways is C-Span a Radical Centrist TV network ? . 7. Special Report on Fox News TV has been characterized as a Radical Centrist new analysis show. Find one other TV news analysis show on another channel that, in your opinion, is at least partly Radical Centrist in character. Why aren't there more shows like Special Report ? Discuss with your counselor. . 8. Visit Mark Satin's website, Radical Middle Newsletter. Write a report on the article that you like the most. Write another report on an article that you disagreed with. Three or four pages for each report. Make each report interesting, think about the material you are reviewing and how it can effect you in the future. & Also visit the RadicalCentrism.org website. Write a report on the article that you like the most. Write another report on an article that you disagreed with. Three or four pages for each report. Make each report interesting, think about the material you are reviewing and how it can effect you in the future. . . 9. Use any respected historical source you prefer and read up on the presidents of the United States. Be prepared to defend your selection by someone who knows American history, so this cannot be arbitrary, you need to know what you are talking about. Of all of America's presidents, which one was the most Radical Centrist in outlook ? Who was the next most Radical Centrist in his views ?
. . 10. Give a 10 minute talk to your Scout troop about Radical Centrism ; explain what it is all about in your own words and what you like about it and what questions or criticisms you think should be made. Take questions from other Scouts for 3 or 4 minutes and do your best to answer them in an informative way. Congratulations, you have earned the Radical Centrist Merit Badge ! . . . . . -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
