There’s something about public art that gets to the heart of Politicolor’s project. When Carlos Collejo offered a tour of L.A. murals to our National Academy group in 2009, he explained the people and the art meet in the streets through these works of art. In the short video, “The Battle for LA’s Murals,” a [...]
Posts under ‘RED/People’
112th Reads the Constitution. Don’t Stop There.
The 112th Congress has already delivered on a campaign promise. They read the entire Constitution on the House floor. Like most campaign promises, however, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. There was a quibble about which version to read, the original version or the current version that reflects revisions, amendments or deletions…. actually, they [...]
Wikileaks and the First Amendment
Being a tech enthusiast, I’m not quick to scoff at the idea of “hi-tech terrorists.” Cyber security must be considered a high priority for effective government, but the current Wikileaks stories suggest that our liberty is at stake as much as our security. If you don’t identify with the extremes (i.e., set our data free [...]
America’s “Futures Plural”
An interesting post on Big Think provokes thoughts on our future as well as how we teach about our past. Niall Ferguson, a Harvard history professor, takes on the question, “What will be the U.S.’s place in the world over the next 20 years?” He discusses a future where the U.S. as a waning empire [...]
A Theory of American Identity: Or the Radical American Exceptionalism: Or Why Baseball is Better than Soccer?
An abstract submitted for you consideration. Your questions and assistance in refining the ideas presented here would be greatly appreciated. Over the last year I have been contemplating the notion of American identity, and what that means. As I contemplated the bounds of this notion, I began formulating a rather extreme form of American exceptionalism. [...]
Big Feet
One of the commitments of the Politicolor community is making complex ideas accessible. This rendition of carbon footprints attempts to do just that. If the U.S. doesn’t take the lead, who else can fill those shoes? Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr [...]
Seeing America
The second week at Montpelier concluded Friday with this question… What do you SEE when you say AMERICA? As the American public celebrates independence through fireworks, BBQ and pool parties, the 80 teachers who studied constitutional citizenship at Madison’s Montpelier know we must keep the future as well as the past in our mind’s eye. [...]
The Essential Declaration
I was a little late discovering this project but it’s perfect for alumni of either NEH institute. Slate is asking the public to express the most essential idea of the Declaration of Independence on Twitter. Can you boil it down to 124 characters or less? Post your ideas as comments here and we’ll tweet them [...]
Bon Jovi Believes in the Power of We
The nightly news in Austin has been dominated by updates from Fort Hood. Perhaps it’s moments like this that justify that last story on the national news. The one about a long lost teddy bear or crazy cute animals at the local zoo. Tonight, however, that last story was more than a palate cleanser. On [...]
Knowing Political Knowledge
In The Politics, Aristotle suggests political knowledge is sovereign knowledge: In all the branches of knowledge and in every kind of craft the end in view is some good. In the most sovereign of these, the capacity for [leadership in] political matters, the end in view is the greatest good and the good which is [...]
