tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34667604239402224142024-02-18T23:38:08.423-08:00Eric Thomas Weber's BlogEric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-25812641525751441672016-07-27T13:54:00.000-07:002016-07-27T13:54:06.267-07:00New Site / Blog - No longer posting here after today<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">
<img alt="It's a photo of a "Detour" sign." border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYi0dcWkZ5qHhhA7CPxAApLq-8TIqqZ9TLnmkTu4KM26PJx4tVhuTIYkCCja_If7rxGjQ-v3EHLIAuJYGM1Vx6mPyKEI7FPJpoFgPWD3z6GFRW0cJnwAol40V0gjRzhyphenhyphen_MqachNQdb3X79/s200/detour-sign.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a> </div>
Hey folks,<br />
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I should have added this post here a while back, but it's been quite an eventful year. <b> </b><br />
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<b>My new site/blog is now my professional Web site:</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a></span>. </b><br />
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<b>Head over to check it out.</b><br />
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Also, if you haven't already, "like" <a href="http://facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">my Facebook author page</a> and follow me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/EricTWeber" target="_blank">@EricTWeber</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-74491832282519278302015-05-21T12:27:00.000-07:002015-05-21T12:27:05.428-07:00"Purpose in Life and Work," Episode 2 of Philosophy Bakes BreadFor more information about my work, visit <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. You can follow me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">@erictweber</a>, and the Philosophy Bakes Bread podcast now has a twitter feed also: <a href="http://twitter.com/PhilosophyBB" target="_blank">@PhilosophyBB</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX9DIDwSJXjnMPw2JyYUZXf3Wb44yT3gWK88Lt1gcruh0bdPSPxonmqItw6WqxW3jVsq5uuojEwWbvl2ScB8gT5cxsq6-CGhTY8Mv7VW1wsQC6G4IdcJrsQKry6lE8hEBrfmHYQqzMz4F/s1600/PBB-Logo-1-itunes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX9DIDwSJXjnMPw2JyYUZXf3Wb44yT3gWK88Lt1gcruh0bdPSPxonmqItw6WqxW3jVsq5uuojEwWbvl2ScB8gT5cxsq6-CGhTY8Mv7VW1wsQC6G4IdcJrsQKry6lE8hEBrfmHYQqzMz4F/s200/PBB-Logo-1-itunes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/2015/05/21/ep2-purpose-in-life-and-work/" target="_blank"><b>"Purpose in Life and Work,"</b></a> Episode 2 of the Philosophy Bakes Bread podcast is now out. Click the title link here to visit the podcast Web site.<br />
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<i>Brief description:</i> This second episode of Philosophy Bakes Bread considers the challenge of envisioning and choosing the right purposes for oneself and for one’s organizations in life and at work.<br />
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For a little more info about the idea behind the podcast, see the <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/introduction/" target="_blank">introduction</a> page. You can also <b>subscribe </b>to the podcast using this feed address: <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/feed/podcast/">http://philosophybakesbread.com/feed/podcast/</a>.<br />
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In a day or so, iTunes will have updated and will list the episode here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/tt/podcast/philosophy-bakes-bread/id976964260">https://itunes.apple.com/tt/podcast/philosophy-bakes-bread/id976964260</a><br />
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<br />Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-90204886800916777002015-03-20T15:55:00.001-07:002015-03-20T15:55:17.587-07:00"Philosophy Bakes Bread" podcast launchedFor more information about my work, visit <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. Also, follow me on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber">@erictweber</a>.<br />
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In March of 2015, I launched a podcast series called Philosophy Bakes Bread, food for thought about life and leadership. The first episode is about "Acceptance and Happiness with Stoicism," and is <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/2015/03/14/ep1-stoicism/" target="_blank">here</a>. I've also posted the <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/2015/03/14/ep1-transcript-acceptance-happiness-with-stoicism/" target="_blank">transcript</a> for the episode in a separate post.<br />
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For a little more info about the idea behind the podcast, see the <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/introduction/" target="_blank">introduction</a> page. If you're interested and want to subscribe with a podcast program, the RSS feed address is: <a href="http://philosophybakesbread.com/feed/podcast/">http://philosophybakesbread.com/feed/podcast/</a>. I'm still learning about this stuff. <br />
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If you're an Apple user, the iTunes page for the podcast is <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/pk/podcast/philosophy-bakes-bread/id976964260" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you've got ideas that you'd like to hear about, email them to me at <a href="mailto:philosophybakesbread@gmail.com">philosophybakesbread@gmail.com</a>. Also, you can follow the podcast on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/PhilosophyBB" target="_blank">@PhilosophyBB</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-59859416070526293802015-02-16T10:23:00.001-08:002015-02-16T10:23:54.936-08:00"Philosophy Bakes Bread," An address in thanks and acceptance of the MS Humanities Council's 2015 Public Humanities Scholar Award<span style="font-size: small;">For more info and other writings, visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. Follow me on your preferred medium: <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://plus.google.com/+EricWeberAuthor/" target="_blank">Google+</a>. I'm also on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.</span><br />
Finally, if you want to follow my podcasts:
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<h1>
<span style="line-height: 150%;">"Philosophy Bakes Bread" </span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">An address in thanks and acceptance of the Mississippi Humanities Council's 2015 Public Humanities Scholar Award, received on Friday, February 13, 2015, in the Old Capitol Building, Jackson, MS. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Given the occasion to say thank you to many people, I recorded this address and am using it as my first podcast. I'm learning... <b>What I'm posting here</b> is 1) a link to the podcast page, then 2) an embedded podcast mechanism, in case you'd like to listen to it here on this page. Then, below that I'm including 3) the text of my speech and then 4) the bio that the MHC kindly put together and 5) a picture of my wife, Dr. Annie Davis Weber, and I posing with Governor William Winter and his wife, Elise Varner Winter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>NOTE: </b>This recording was created with my cellphone, which I kept in my suit pocket. There are consequently some noises and somewhat odd sounding moments, muffled a little bit by the way in which I recorded this file. It seemed clear enough to me to be worth sharing nonetheless, but it also is not an example of what my future podcasts will sound like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Recording / Podcast page:</b></span><br />
<a href="http://etweber.podomatic.com/entry/2015-02-16T08_48_15-08_00" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank">http://etweber.podomatic.com/entry/2015-02-16T08_48_15-08_00</a><br />
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<b>Or, listen to it here: </b><br />
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<h2>
<b>Text of the speech: </b></h2>
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<div class="MsoHeader">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Philosophy Bakes
Bread<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In thanks for the MHC’s Humanities Scholar Award<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">02/13/15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the last two years, I have experimented with the hobby of baking bread. The activity is creative, giving a sense of accomplishment, as well as something tasty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />As
a philosopher, I have often heard that “philosophy bakes no bread.” Perhaps
philosophy does not, but some philosophers do. There is a rift in thinking
about the humanities, which hinges on the question of whether they do or should
metaphorically bake bread. In recent years, the controversial physicist Freeman
Dyson asked “When did philosophy lose its bite?” As a scholar, I have from the
start sought to advance the connection between humanistic inquiry and contemporary
problems. I am not alone in this work, but more importantly I owe immeasurable
debts to many people who modeled the work I aspire to do and who have made it
possible. So, as I thank the Mississippi Humanities Council and all of you here
tonight, I am moved to express my gratitude to many people who have given me
guidance, support, and encouragement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Since
our first interactions in 2008, Carol Andersen of the Mississippi Humanities
Council has offered me invaluable guidance. I appreciated the opportunity I had
recently to meet Executive Director Rockoff, who kindly visited me on a recent trip
to Oxford. I thank you both for your support. The Mississippi Humanities
Council fills an important role in a state widely known for its rich art and
culture. When unique opportunities arise for serious, thoughtful, humanistic
engagement, the council gives our local communities the support they need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I
am also grateful to my department chair, Dr. Weixing Chen, who not only took
the time to nominate me for this award and to be here tonight, but who also
shows his sincere appreciation for the importance of ethics and philosophy for
the scholarship and pedagogy of leadership and public policy. My first chair at
the university deserves special thanks. Dr. Robert Haws’s vision led to the
creation of the interdisciplinary department of Public Policy Leadership in
which I write and teach. He strongly encouraged me in the direction of publicly
engaged work. While it was my desire and inclination to head in that direction,
the pressures of the tenure clock lead many scholars away from less traditional
work, such as public writing. So I thank Drs. Chen and Haws as well as the
reporters and newspaper editors who welcomed my participation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />David
Hampton of the <i>Clarion Ledger</i> took a
chance on my writing, and since his retirement, Sam Hall and Jerry Mitchell at
the paper have both been supportive. Javad Heiran-Nia, reporter at the <i>Tehran Times</i>, Iran’s major
English-language newspaper, has invited me numerous times to write about democracy
and liberty where they are sorely needed. And I thank these friends for their
encouragement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />More
recently, I have had inspiring collaborations with the Executive Director and
the Academic Director of the William Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation, Drs. Susan Glisson and Jennifer Stollman. Dr. Glisson
introduced me to Governor Winter. The Governor has been an inspiration for me, as
a man respected by everyone with whom his name has ever come up in
conversation. He kindly endorsed my 2013 book, titled <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>, and honored me further when he penned an
elegant and supportive foreword for my forthcoming 2015 book, titled <i>Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and
Leadership in the South</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />My
deepest thanks go to my family. I married a brilliant woman, who has always
strangely enough believed in me and been my strongest supporter. Her parents, Dr.
Paul and Jane Davis have shown me love and encouragement, and even came to a
symposium I organized with the support of the Council. Here tonight are my
parents, Drs. Collin and Dominique Weber, who never flinched for a second when
I let them know, “Mom and Dad, I want to major in Philosophy.” My last two
notes of thanks go two teachers who have been such mentors to me that I
consider them family. Dr. Larry Hickman was the ideal dissertation director at
Southern Illinois University and a role model as the engaged and active
scholar. Finally, Dr. John Lachs of Vanderbilt University has mentored me since
my early undergraduate days, back in the twentieth century. Dr. Lachs showed me
what philosophy can do to help each of us pursue happier, more passionate
lives. He first taught me that indeed philosophy bakes bread, and he and Dr.
Hickman guided me in my studies of philosophy, especially to John Dewey’s work.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;"><br />Dewey
was the greatest public philosopher that the United States has known. His bread
baking was prolific, in his voluminous public writings and engagements. His ideas
about democracy and education are still vital and needed, and highlight what he
called the “supreme intellectual obligation.” At bottom, it involves
cultivating in ourselves and in the wider public the scientific attitudes and intellectual
habits of mind necessary for appreciating wisdom and for putting it to use. I intend
always for my work to pursue this crucial goal, which I believe is one of the
most important ways that philosophy, the humanities, and the Mississippi
Humanities Council bake the nourishing intellectual bread so vital for living
happy and meaningful lives together. I thank you all for the award and for your
support for the humanities.</span><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<h2>
MHC Bio</h2>
<b>2015 Humanities Scholar Award</b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqaRbms1LMLdNxVYVOB4hPlARcCVWR2B-pPs6JwuXjwdU071qEq8BXv7l3dC3gMrvswvxpxmTSwVHeLnmeFBssK3SSdJ80Adch8ujLuED7lBjpOOM5M38_zfyyASayeWfRRLmZ2HX1llQ/s1600/Weber-MHC-Bio-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Thumbnail photo of a scan of the MHC Bio that was published in the program for the ceremony." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqaRbms1LMLdNxVYVOB4hPlARcCVWR2B-pPs6JwuXjwdU071qEq8BXv7l3dC3gMrvswvxpxmTSwVHeLnmeFBssK3SSdJ80Adch8ujLuED7lBjpOOM5M38_zfyyASayeWfRRLmZ2HX1llQ/s1600/Weber-MHC-Bio-300.jpg" height="200" title="" width="194" /></a>The Humanities Scholar Award recognizes a humanities scholar who has participated in Council programs, serving as an interpreter of his or her discipline for public audiences. Dr. Weber was selected to receive this award in recognition of his outstanding teaching at the University of Mississippi and his work with the Mississippi Humanities Council as a program evaluator, Speakers Bureau presenter and project director on several grants.<br />
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Dr. Weber has served as a professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi since 2007. He is also an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Philosophy. He teaches courses in ethics and public policy, critical thinking and communication for public policy, and philosophy of leadership, as well as courses in the Honors College.<br />
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Dr. Weber's work with the Mississippi Humanities Council has bridged the complicated academic study of philosophy with engaging, interpretative public programs for general audiences, using philosophical disciplines to understand our unique human experience, and particularly our Mississippi experience, more fully. With grant support from the Council, Weber has brought academics, students and the general public together to contemplate philosophical questions such as ethics at the end of life and civic responsibility as it relates to disabilities.<br />
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<h2>
Photo with Governor Winter</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiml0uxX4MVJWboW9in7c83-nsKti3S_lqWqZ2zR30TGrtpvqbNxFB6LG-cuWs3ffN1w1reK6I9dFsOGW927I5mH_fzEizUlFLT9Xj1tO44jRlkbQPjQU2S5DoB9DjQTzNuUyWzxk61tfYa/s1600/2015-02-13+20.20.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo with Elise Varner Winter, Dr. Annie Davis Weber, Governor William Winter, and Dr. Eric Thomas Weber" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiml0uxX4MVJWboW9in7c83-nsKti3S_lqWqZ2zR30TGrtpvqbNxFB6LG-cuWs3ffN1w1reK6I9dFsOGW927I5mH_fzEizUlFLT9Xj1tO44jRlkbQPjQU2S5DoB9DjQTzNuUyWzxk61tfYa/s1600/2015-02-13+20.20.30.jpg" height="225" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: Elise Varner Winter, Dr. Annie Davis Weber, Governor William Winter, and Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Visit the <a href="http://mshumanities.org/" target="_blank">Mississippi Humanities Council</a> Web site, as well as <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. If you'd like to hear more podcasts by Dr. Weber: <br /><br />
<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/EricThomasWebersBlog" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="//feedburner.google.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/EricThomasWebersBlog" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-39582799005121146922015-01-30T10:23:00.001-08:002015-01-30T10:36:23.307-08:00SOPHIA Strategic Planning Session, January 2015<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">For more info and other writings, visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. Follow me on your preferred medium: <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://plus.google.com/+EricWeberAuthor/" target="_blank">Google+</a>. I'm also on <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">SOPHIA Strategic Planning Session, January 2015</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJyI2Dn6-sU6ybXhA250m9ktp76FrGIXjx8ojRjMaUkU9aEhD1VzlV2pLroxE-9M4h1vNNewdbBtFObu9ciI4X9_o9Edz1iE5yBF8R25vKCNhqCuyJSVSSAFXHkIpo1GYctEL5B9rtz5S/s1600/Oregon2009-1-bg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of people in dialogue at a SOPHIA meeting." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJyI2Dn6-sU6ybXhA250m9ktp76FrGIXjx8ojRjMaUkU9aEhD1VzlV2pLroxE-9M4h1vNNewdbBtFObu9ciI4X9_o9Edz1iE5yBF8R25vKCNhqCuyJSVSSAFXHkIpo1GYctEL5B9rtz5S/s1600/Oregon2009-1-bg.jpg" height="136" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Last night, Thursday, January 29th, 2015, the Board of Trustees and prospective future leaders of the <a href="http://philosophersinamerica.com/" target="_blank">Society of Philosophers in America</a> (SOPHIA) joined together on a phone conference call. In the spring of 2015, Dr. Annie Davis Weber, the University of Mississippi's Manager of Strategic Planning, is teaching a graduate course on strategic planning in the university's School of Education. Her class includes a real strategic planning experience for her students. Fortunately for SOPHIA, I happen to know Dr. (Annie Davis) Weber quite well. SOPHIA is an organization that has been around for many years in a few forms. Over the last six years, I have served as Executive Director, working to get the ball rolling again on a number of activities that embody the values that attracted me to work with SOPHIA. At the same time, given our momentum and our need to take SOPHIA to the next level, we really needed a dedicated effort to plan our future strategically. All of these factors together have made for a pretty extraordinary opportunity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">The new SOPHIA is in the making. I can feel a great deal of energy coming not only from me or even from just a few of us, but from the group. This is exciting. It is also a really helpful and direct experience of the value and prospects of modern strategic planning. On a personal level, it's pretty wonderful also to see the brilliant woman I married in action - and to appreciate how great she is at what she does. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Stay tuned, because I sincerely believe SOPHIA is poised for some very exciting developments. I've already started getting a number of interested people, groups, and impressively organized and funded programs interested in collaborating with SOPHIA. If you're interested in publicly engaged philosophy, or just in thinking deeply about practical and timely problems, visit our Web site: </span><a href="http://philosophersinamerica.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">http://PhilosophersInAmerica.com</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnB8K1KqSEeyb7aKGI-he_qismS1M12FqfNgSkhR1rlasY1LKpwdEd_avUvodrepphrX7a5zhq1g30MAV_nA3uMVRL66_GWzQGTbGPK9EaiT3WPty4Xk3g6WFxwX7ONr4AJoHVrQmcD4C/s1600/sophiaconference_philwaller_0629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="SOPHIA Executive Director, Eric Thomas Weber, listening to Texas A&M University Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Tommy Curry. " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnB8K1KqSEeyb7aKGI-he_qismS1M12FqfNgSkhR1rlasY1LKpwdEd_avUvodrepphrX7a5zhq1g30MAV_nA3uMVRL66_GWzQGTbGPK9EaiT3WPty4Xk3g6WFxwX7ONr4AJoHVrQmcD4C/s1600/sophiaconference_philwaller_0629.jpg" height="131" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">In the next two months we'll have a lot to tell you about our ideas. We will also want to hear your ideas and to involve you in the mission of creating a two way street and new public forums for philosophers and people from other fields and beyond the academy to join together in fruitful conversation, following Socrates example, but maybe without the hemlock. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Executive Director</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">The Society of Philosophers in America</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://philosophersinamerica.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">http://PhilosophersInAmerica.com</a> </div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Weber's site: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;"><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">http://EricThomasWeber.org</a></span></div>
Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-87660129545933486312014-12-22T08:13:00.001-08:002015-02-01T12:04:37.952-08:00Op-ed: "Weber: The Promise of Prison Education," Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), Dec 20, 2014, 5CFor more info and other writings, visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. Follow me on your preferred medium: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://plus.google.com/+EricWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Google+</a>. I'm also on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.<br />
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This piece was in print under the title "Inmates Need to Be Humanized Through Education." A scan in <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/Weber-PromiseOfPrisonEducation-Dec14.pdf" target="_blank">PDF format is here</a>, and a <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/Weber_ThePromiseOfPrisonEducation-OnlineVersion.pdf" target="_blank">PDF of the original online version is here</a>.<br />
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Weber: The promise of prison education</h1>
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<span class="asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item" itemprop="name" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 14px; position: relative;"><br />Eric Thomas Weber, Guest columnist, <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">The Clarion Ledger</a></span><br />
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In the dozen years that I have been teaching, two moments stand out as the most gripping experiences I have had in my classes. With a group of freshmen sitting by the Honors College fountain at the University of Mississippi, we once talked about philosopher John Lachs's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/082651328X/" target="_blank">In Love with Life</a>.</div>
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Lachs explains some ways of thinking that are instrumental for living a happy life. We so often focus on things we cannot change in the past, or we worry intensely about the future, forgetting to live in and enjoy the present, he explains.</div>
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Just when we had gone over one of Lachs's beautiful passages covering that insight, thin and golden autumn leaves from a tree overhead began to fall slowly all around us, flipping as they descended, as if they wanted to be noticed. I could not have dreamt of a more beautiful illustration of the joy we can find in appreciating the present.</div>
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The next teaching moment that stands out most profoundly for me took place in a very different and unlikely setting. Undergraduates at university are energetic, but often need coaxing. I was startled, therefore, to see just how eager and enthralled a group of students would be when I met them at Parchman Prison.</div>
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This past Spring, I had the good fortune to witness Louis Bourgeois's memoire-writing course, the Prison Writes Program, put on at Parchman Prison. I served as the outside evaluator for a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, which supported Bourgeois and Vox, an incorporated nonprofit in Oxford, MS.</div>
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An author and teacher, Bourgeois opened my eyes to how rewarding prison education can be. Parchman's Education Director Nathan Murphree has been very supportive and welcoming, genuinely happy to have opportunities to offer inmates. In the context of recent stories about Mississippi's prisons, we should remember that there are some very good people serving the public in our Department of Corrections.</div>
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The men I witnessed in Bourgeois' Spring class were beyond enthusiastic. They were engaged and passionate about writing, excited that their work was to be published in Vox's volume, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/In-Our-Own-Words-Parchman/dp/0980194407" target="_blank">In Our Own Words: Writing from Parchman Farm</a> (<a href="http://voxpress.org/" target="_blank">VoxPress.org</a>).</div>
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It was clear to me that students in Bourgeois's class were there because of the meaningful experience of taking his course. In a show of seriousness on the prison's part, though, Murphree offered those who complete Bourgeois' course a letter recommending a 30 day reduction to their sentence.</div>
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In a separate effort, Dr. Patrick Alexander and Dr. Otis Pickett started up the Prison-to-College-Pipeline at the University of Mississippi, offering inmates – students – college credit for coursework delivered in the prisons. There is a burgeoning movement for prison education in Mississippi and its prospects are highly promising.</div>
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Educating an inmate humanizes a person. Student-inmates intensely feel incarceration. What is needed in our prisons is genuine correction, the real educational effort to treat inmates as human beings capable of redirected behavior and of a meaningful future.</div>
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It is commonly thought that what inmates need is job training, vocational education. A 2002 study of prison education and recidivism found, however, that "completion of vocational-technical training while incarcerated was linked to shorter survival times" outside of prison, compared with broader educational programming, like GED and humanistic studies.</div>
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These results might seem counterintuitive, but they make sense. Learning how to fix a car is handy, but does not address values and the decisions we make. Of all subjects, I believe that ethics could be among the most enjoyable, transformative, and useful courses we could bring to the prisons. In the big picture, however, it is the humanities which humanize. They explore what it means to be a person, what sort of thing society is, and how we might best think about our participation in it.</div>
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When Bourgeois taught in Parchman a second time, he invited me to lead one of his class meetings in October, an experience I had the honor of repeating in December. I jumped at both opportunities.</div>
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My background is in Philosophy. I suggested covering the material that has most helped me think through hard times – <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Encheiridion-Hackett-Classics/dp/0915145693/" target="_blank">Epictetus's stoicism</a>. Obsessing about things you cannot change is a sure recipe for misery, he explains, as is blaming others for matters in your control. Epictetus teaches us to focus on what is in our control and to accept what is not. The students at Parchman picked up immediately on the fact that the wisdom we call for in the Serenity prayer is the central stoic insight.</div>
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The daunting issue in talking about stoicism was that Epictetus believed that freedom and happiness are always in your control. That message might not go over smoothly in a prison setting. Epictetus teaches that if you accept all that is not in your control, you are free and will be happier, focusing on what is in your control. To my surprise, the students in the class agreed almost unanimously. Since the class did not uniformly agree with Epictetus, we still had the rich interaction that I was hoping for, yet the men were mature, thoughtful, and appreciative of what seemed profound and right in the ancient philosopher's writings.</div>
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The inmates I met were engaged. They had not only read the material but had prepared notes about it. Some had printed encyclopedia materials about Epictetus for extra background reading – likely with Murphree's support. As we talked about particular issues, students would note how one point related directly to another that Epictetus had raised elsewhere. We moved to read that other passage. It was a class discussion which equaled my richest and most rewarding taught under the trees in the Grove.</div>
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These men were experienced. They took the discussion seriously. They understood how abstract ideas have direct relevance for real life. Unlike bored teenagers, these guys needed no convincing of the value of our discussion.</div>
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My experience in December was equally great. These men were fully engaged in a discussion about Jean-Paul Sartre's essay, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Existentialism-Humanism-Jean-Paul-Sartre/dp/0300115466" target="_blank">Existentialism Is a Humanism</a>," in which the philosopher asserts that people are radically responsible for their choices, and in choosing, proclaim their values. The student-inmates' reactions were sophisticated, interested, and compelling.</div>
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It is vital that we not underestimate inmates' potential and intelligence. Plato believed that philosophy should ideally be studied when one has reached 50 years of age. Before that we are inexperienced and preoccupied with life's expediencies.</div>
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As an advocate for education, my initial inclination is typically to focus on primary and secondary schooling, as well as on higher education – ideally to keep people out of prison in the first place. That mission can be advanced, however, while still valuing and believing in the potential for prison education.</div>
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Inmates want the chance to grow and learn like the rest of us. Working with them is hugely rewarding. If we treat them with respect and if we support meaningful educational opportunities for them, our recidivism rate will decrease and we will save a great deal of money over time. As much as we can, we ought to nurture the germinating prison education initiatives in Mississippi. The movement promises to build citizens' self-respect and sense of their own positive power to pursue meaningful lives upon release.</div>
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<i><b>Eric Thomas Weber is associate professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0739151231/" target="_blank">Democracy and Leadership (2013)</a> and the forthcoming Uniting Mississippi (2015). He is representing only his own point of view. Follow him on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">@erictweber</a>. Contact him at his website, <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>.</b></i></div>
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Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-11974579169751767162014-08-27T07:47:00.000-07:002014-08-27T07:47:28.173-07:00Latest interview op-ed: "Political Discourse Can Only Be Efficacious If It Is Free: Expert," in Tehran Times, August 25, 2014For this and other writings, visit my Web site, <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. Follow me on your preferred medium: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://plus.google.com/+EricWeberAuthor/" target="_blank">Google+</a>. I'm also on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.<br />
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"Political Discourse Can Only Be Efficacious If It Is Free: Expert" </h2>
Printed in <i><a href="http://www.tehrantimes.com/" target="_blank">The Tehran Times</a></i>,<i> </i>August 25, 2014, International section<br />
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<a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</a><br />
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You can read the scan of the article by <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/Weber-TT-Interview-PoliticalDiscourse-082514.pdf" target="_blank">clicking here</a>, or you can read the HTML version following the image.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Photo of the scan of my op-ed interview in the Tehran Times from August 25, 2014, "Political Discourse Can Only Be Efficacious If It Is Free: Expert."" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdUJr1Vqo3xRRoIfhzB5mHXU1b_3rlSjRCgW35wDpumlpbfAJEWU68dtNaoRTbTIehp2-XfRwp-aSsDu_VZORqhkL3kJT9JRhQiuerNLHycGbqayXsxOTqNLTekFT6DF5Hy2UgjP3NUGd/s1600/Weber-TT-Interview-PoliticalDiscourse-082514-600w.jpg" height="354" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/Weber-TT-Interview-PoliticalDiscourse-082514.pdf" target="_blank">Click here to open a PDF scan of the article</a>.</td></tr>
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<b>HTML/text version:</b><br />
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, by Javad Heiran-Nia<br />
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TEHRAN - Professor Eric Thomas Weber believes that political discourse can only be efficacious if it is free.<br />
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In an interview with the Tehran Times, Weber says, "Political discourse must be supported by honest and sound reasoning."<br />
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Weber, the professor of public policy leadership at the University of Mississippi, also says, "Without basis in the truth, in proper logic, and in the use of healthy emotions, the exploitation of sentiments to shape people's attitudes is immoral."<br />
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Following is the text of the interview:<br />
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<b>Q: How does political discourse shape society? </b><br />
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<b>A: </b>Many factors shape society, including especially the environments we live in and the conditions we endure or enjoy. Many problems arise because the majority of people do not feel the concerns of a minority. In some countries, the majority or its political representatives prohibit the minority even from voicing its concerns in public dialogue. Political discourse is one of the important avenues by which we argue for this or that solution in policy for the resolution of our problems. Such discourse is not always the most powerful force in changing people's minds, as people are often moved by emotions or by self-interest. Therefore, to change minds, we must often find ways to exert pressure on people's emotions or pocket-books.<br />
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When a majority or advantaged group routinely does wrong or is insensitive to the plight of others, we can shame offenders by talking about, recording, and broadcasting the troubling behavior we wish to end. We can also tell the stories of those who are affected and oppressed, humanizing them for others and enabling people to see the world from the point of view of that minority. The former force exerts psychological pressure to change for those who feel ashamed when their behavior becomes known and the subject of discussion and disapproval. In areas of great injustice, public discourse in the press, the arts, and the humanities are routinely circumscribed precisely because of their power to shape public opinion for the sake of redressing harms done by the powerful or the majority. As a result, a key measure of a society's freedom is the extent to which such channels and means are free for inquiry, allowing people to speak up against injustice.<br />
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Political discourse can draw on the imagery and emotional rhetoric necessary to influence people, but it adds a vital component to the effort to pursue reform for the sake of justice. Political discourse must be supported by honest and sound reasoning. Without basis in the truth, in proper logic, and in the use of healthy emotions, the exploitation of sentiments to shape people's attitudes is immoral. Political discourse is the medium in which ideals and considerations are assessed, clarified, and rendered concrete in reference to contemporary problems. Therefore, any movement towards justice using emotion and rhetoric to shape public opinion must be rooted in the values of free political discourse. Societies which repress political discourse thereby reveal a spreading crack in their governments' claims on legitimate authority.<br />
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<b>Q: Does political discourse need a manager for survival? </b><br />
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<b>A:</b> There are several ways to interpret the question of whether political discourse requires a manager. On the one hand, oversight by a government which decides that some ideas or challenges cannot be discussed is evidence that its grasp on authority is achieved only by censorship, by threat of violent, social, or economic pressures to conform. In that sense, a manager for political discourse will appear deeply troubling to anyone who loves freedom and democracy. On the other hand, without some kind of check on public voices, people could injure one another with baseless libel, rooted in falsehood and intended to harm. Credibility matters. The truth matters. Therefore, the real managers of discourse in the context of libel are mechanisms like the courts, through which individuals can protect their reputations with lawsuits. In addition, in the courts, laws against perjury contribute to managing truth-telling, but only in limited contexts.<br />
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Two more points are deeply important for considering what kind of management is acceptable and even morally necessary for political discourse to avoid harm or to enable social progress. The first is that people lead busy lives and often lack the time to dedicate themselves to the research and writing it takes to weigh in provocatively on political issues. Given this constraint, "opinion leaders" play an important role in advancing political discourse. The trouble is that powerful and advantaged citizens and organizations have enormously greater resources for the sponsorship of voices representing their interests, while the disadvantaged citizens lack such resources and consequently voice for their concerns. Some people can help diminish the imbalance to a small degree, including the nobler religious leaders who speak up for the least among us. Others are journalists who are sometimes supported by their readership and editors for speaking up for the greater public interest. Then there are the more occasional contributors from universities around the world, like mine, and from other industries.<br />
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The second though more important source of management of political discourse is an educated public. The public exerts its force on political discourse first and most fundamentally in its reactions to the news of government action. The public's critiques must be informed and enabled, however, which occurs through the empowering results of universal education. Thomas Jefferson famously advocated for an educated public as the only guarantee for the preservation of a free society. Without an educated populace, the arguments of those in power do not have to be well reasoned and demonstrated. Frederick Douglass explained long ago that power concedes nothing without demand. The public must both understand and react intelligently to the ideas put forth in political discourse. Then it must demand that persons in positions of power enact those policies and decisions which reflect the will of the people. In this sense, then, the greatest manager of political discourse, as inchoate as it often appears to be, is the people exerting pressure on public figures and raising expectations for leadership.<br />
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<b>Q: How can political discourse </b><b>prevail in a society like societies in </b><b>the Middle East? </b><br />
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<b>A:</b> Political discourse can only be efficacious if it is free. Before any other demand brought to politicians, a free press must be the first step. No figure should be above scrutiny. When people go hungry, when medicines are needed but denied, when persons are imprisoned wrongfully, the people have no recourse, no avenue for redress if they are not permitted to raise concerns about justice, truth, and reform. In the United States, the protection of free speech is so great that radically unpopular messages are tolerated. The reason is not that people enjoy such speech. Rather, it is important to know what citizens think, even if they are wrong. More importantly, if people do not have the release of energies and pressures which comes from speaking one's mind about what one believes to be right, the only alternative is explosive violence. Therefore, the protection of radical and unpopular speech is crucial for social stability, even though one might expect the reverse to be the case.<br />
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In recent years, the world has witnessed uprisings in such developments as the Arab Spring. These moments are examples of the buildup of dissatisfactions not permitted release. In time, more constriction of the people will almost certainly result in further eruptions of revolutionary action. Societies unwilling to expand people's freedoms will be the least able to maintain themselves. Ironically, the desire for stability should prompt leaders to fight for opening up the avenues for political discourse which will appear turbulent and chaotic. Battles in the realm of ideas, however, are processes by which intelligence is refined and the best ideas can rise to the surface like cream. Conflicts about how best to lead society replace political imprisonment, violence, and censorship, and in exchange offer the give and take of public inquiry in pursuit of the wisest course of action for leadership. After all, there is no better test of the merits and flaws of one's policy proposals than the deep scrutiny which arises when one submits his or her ideas for objective evaluation, for the receipt of the objections from opposition and skeptics.<br />
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There is no more important development which could yield moral, social, and intellectual progress in the Middle East than the progressive growth of freedom in public dialogue. All else hinges upon this, including the legitimacy of existing political authorities, and consequently the likelihood of their long-term survival. It may seem counterintuitive, but the clearest path to a stable society in much of the Middle East runs through change – through the sincere release of the reins which presently inhibit the exercise of free political discourse.<br />
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<b><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</a> is associate professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi and is author of four books, including <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0739151223/" target="_blank">Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue</a></i> (November, 2013) - 30% discount available when you buy from the publisher's Web site, see <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/WeberFlyer2.pdf" target="_blank">discount flyer</a>. </b><br />
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Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-52032530665260262432014-02-17T08:13:00.000-08:002014-02-17T08:13:21.813-08:00UPDATES: Discount and Book Proposal Potential Visit <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, or connect with me on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber/" target="_blank">Linked</a> and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.<br />
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UPDATES:<br />
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I was having a look back at some posts and wanted to let readers know about two updates.<br />
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<b>New Discount Code</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCckZgsuTYSkCcg98trRb9WCAA0baD9jT_L8lbBReEygjAVjVqh6NqZT_REbfOTdy0kaQIUa5vqpVuMWEzB9J19kWGXcRkZd-Q97dO4UJpxsaAck0UPAoq0MmTT8g_T8DeuKBWsCKmi8JB/s1600/30PercentDiscount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image which reads "Now available at 30% discount"" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCckZgsuTYSkCcg98trRb9WCAA0baD9jT_L8lbBReEygjAVjVqh6NqZT_REbfOTdy0kaQIUa5vqpVuMWEzB9J19kWGXcRkZd-Q97dO4UJpxsaAck0UPAoq0MmTT8g_T8DeuKBWsCKmi8JB/s1600/30PercentDiscount.jpg" height="196" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
The first one is that the 20% discount code I wrote about in an earlier post, for <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>, for whatever reason stopped working. The good news is that there's now a new discount code, and instead of 20%, it gives you <b>30% off</b> when you buy directly from the publisher's Web site.<br />
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The code is:<br />
LEX30AUTH14<br />
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The Web site where you'll find the book, click "order," and soon have an opportunity to put in the code is here:<br />
<a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228">https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228</a><br />
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If you want to download and/or print an Adobe PDF flyer with this information and more about the book, <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/WeberFlyer2.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br />
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<b>Next Book Proposal News Coming Soon</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMdaWovM3P0K3tf7K8H8ybdORitNFw8fQyinlijmPdRDjPTEcZDdBOYQDC9xcmfkWAP824RDVTvCCGerC-z6qXfDKjY1MTJTvVpAjw3lHmpSm5yV9qvwJt4NpMauVF5F6ClwLLCc2pqU7/s1600/UPofMSlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Thumbnail photo of the University Press of Mississippi's logo" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMdaWovM3P0K3tf7K8H8ybdORitNFw8fQyinlijmPdRDjPTEcZDdBOYQDC9xcmfkWAP824RDVTvCCGerC-z6qXfDKjY1MTJTvVpAjw3lHmpSm5yV9qvwJt4NpMauVF5F6ClwLLCc2pqU7/s1600/UPofMSlogo.jpg" height="137" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
I've gotten promising word of editorial support for releasing a new short book, based on the last chapter of <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>. The last chapter is an extended application of my theory of democratic leadership to Mississippi, and so the book might be titled <i>Democracy and Leadership in Mississippi</i>. I should hear soon about whether it will be published by the <a href="http://www.upress.state.ms.us/" target="_blank">University Press of Mississippi</a>. The press generally focuses most on literature and history, but it devotes some significant attention to Mississippi-related work. So, they seemed like the natural fit for such a project.<br />
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I'm grateful to my editors at <a href="https://rowman.com/LexingtonBooks" target="_blank">Lexington Books</a>, who gave me permission to republish material from chapter 9 of <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>. Of course, updating, extension, and additions went into reformatting the chapter into a short book. Each of the long sections of the chapter is now a chapter of its own in the new book, and I've added material necessary to capture in short the nature of the theory I've laid out in the longer book.<br />
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If the project is accepted, I've got an exciting and great person willing to write the Foreword for the book. I couldn't be happier about that. I'll tell you more about this soon, as I might know in the next four days.<br />
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For more information about my work, visit <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-50666285428852662322014-02-15T10:22:00.001-08:002014-02-15T10:22:09.917-08:00'My Coolest Internet Experience,' or 'People Can Be Remarkably Kind'<br />
Check out my Web site <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a> and "Like" <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">my Facebook author page</a>. I'm also on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">@erictweber</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, & <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>. For some reason, I now have a <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/erictweber/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> page too (maybe I'll get better at it sometime...).<br />
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I've always been somewhat optimistic. There are limits to what we can control, which we need to be stoic about, but positive thinking makes a difference within those limits. When we see daily reports about crimes or read books and watch television shows about crooks and drug dealers, it's no surprise that some folks come to feel cynical about people. I'm happy to report that this week I've had my coolest Internet experience ever, which confirmed my feeling that people can be profoundly kind.<br />
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With all of the silly and crazy Internet tools we have available (see the absurd variety hereabove), we can spend a lot of time spreading the word about issues we care about or projects we're working on, while none of our individual tweets or posts seem to be particularly effectual. I'll write about the several interesting opportunities and connections I've made through these channels in some other post, but I have to say something here about an amazing experience I've had this week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqizK2T_E6FQSViJawQlhyphenhyphenOAWy7UeX4JdwVrLsOmDuPudjTniYkkmLyVfGGmVDRI5VREGAe5IrLmzgcWD5w1iHfsGnYHrMe6_NgKiP_MxpkFyq9FpfGWJxZQ9-7w6IIDL7cLhh6cWHKGZ/s1600/DemocracyCovers200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Thumbnail photo of the cover of 'Democracy and Leadership,' bearing Ashley Cecil's painting, "Politician at a Podium."" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqizK2T_E6FQSViJawQlhyphenhyphenOAWy7UeX4JdwVrLsOmDuPudjTniYkkmLyVfGGmVDRI5VREGAe5IrLmzgcWD5w1iHfsGnYHrMe6_NgKiP_MxpkFyq9FpfGWJxZQ9-7w6IIDL7cLhh6cWHKGZ/s1600/DemocracyCovers200.jpg" height="200" title="" width="129" /></a></div>
My 2013 book, <i>Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue</i>, came out with a publisher that permitted me to pick and design the cover, from a few possible form templates. The talented <a href="http://www.ashleycecil.com/" target="_blank">Ashley Cecil</a>'s beautiful painting is on the cover, as you may already know (it's on right here). To spread the word about the book, I posted on these various Internet channels, including on a new <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EricThomasWeberAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook Author page</a> -- why not?<br />
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I have friends with nearly 1,000 "likes" on their author pages, which is great. It's a way of reaching lots of friends and interested audiences when you've got something you feel needs to be said. My own page today has a modest 247 "likes," but I'm just getting started.<br />
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As I was spreading the word about the release of the book and creating the Facebook page, Ashley Cecil posted an <a href="http://www.ashleycecil.com/2014/02/05/cover-art-for-democracy-and-leadership" target="_blank">announcement</a> about the release of the book on her Web site. Some of Ashley's fans and art collectors connected with my Facebook page. That's how I came into contact with <a href="https://plus.google.com/102932960915139803438/photos" target="_blank">John Rogers</a>, an attorney and art collector from Glasgow, Kentucky. It turns out that John was the art collector who had bought Ashley's painting.<br />
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Obviously John and I have sympathetic taste, because when I was looking for cover art -- and I searched quite a bit -- I knew instantly that this was the painting I wanted for the cover, if I could make it work out. John asked me how I had come across the painting. Though I had looked through various databases of art (paintings and photographs), starting with works in the public domain, I eventually stumbled across Ashley's painting by wading deep through search term results that I found on <a href="http://images.google.com/">Images.Google.com</a>.<br />
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While it's fun to connect with an art collector with sympathetic taste, the story gets better. John wrote me (via Facebook message) to say that he thought that I should have the painting.<br />
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I couldn't believe it.<br />
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Art collectors sometimes invest in works that they hope to sell later for a profit. For me, the painting has great sentimental value, because it's the beautiful first artwork that I've been able to select for a book cover. In addition, the book was 4 years in the making and was a lot of hard work, so the artwork is seriously meaningful to me.<br />
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At the same time, my university has granted me a sabbatical to write my next book. You can either accept full-pay for one semester, or you can take the same funds divided over the course of a full year. More than a year ago, I discussed this with my wonderful wife Annie (yesterday was Valentine's Day, I should note), and she agreed that time is the hardest thing to come by. So, we trimmed expenses, saved up for about a year, and now we've made it so that I can take this full year to write. It also means that I can't get into art collection... Certainly not for a while, anyway.<br />
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I didn't see John's generosity coming. And remember, I'm one of the optimists out there.<br />
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Three days after John's message, the painting arrived -- on Valentine's Day, no less. Here it is on our kitchen table:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff6i3ke77EuSAR-6NA24VCihhn8lEcuyYYWQ7lkzLa1c5rw3YzkBfWDSCoA877RRdMTbQnRkLdrjSVrpd-iw_lMMX9lcwT5RQ3A0f2psw0Y-rddLccb_nSfcd6kcqQULwl3nql2rc2FD5/s1600/2014-02-15+00.02.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="This is a large photo of Ashley Cecil's original painting, "Politician at a Podium."" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff6i3ke77EuSAR-6NA24VCihhn8lEcuyYYWQ7lkzLa1c5rw3YzkBfWDSCoA877RRdMTbQnRkLdrjSVrpd-iw_lMMX9lcwT5RQ3A0f2psw0Y-rddLccb_nSfcd6kcqQULwl3nql2rc2FD5/s1600/2014-02-15+00.02.07.jpg" height="300" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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The painting is 8" by 10" and is going to go up in my office at work. It is not only the artwork that an artist first gave me permission to use on a book cover. It is also the first such work that I also now own. I'm still somewhat in disbelief about John's magnanimity. I believe that people are largely very good and sympathetic with others when not conditioned otherwise in some way. That doesn't capture just how friendly and giving people can be, though.<br />
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Therefore, this blogpost -- and a copy of <i>Democracy and Leadership</i> soon to be in the mail -- is dedicated to John Rogers of Glasgow, Kentucky, for showing me just how remarkably kind people can be, especially to a stranger several states away. Thank you so much, John, for your generous gift, and thanks to Ashley for creating this piece and allowing me to use it for the book.<br />
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I can't thank you enough, John.<br />
All the best,<br />
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Eric<br />
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<i>Democracy and Leadership</i> is available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0739151223" target="_blank">Amazon here</a> and also with a <b>30% discount </b>if you buy directly from the publisher's Web site, <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/WeberFlyer2.pdf" target="_blank">with the code on this flyer</a>.<br />
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Visit <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>.
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<a href="http://www.tehrantimes.com/component/content/article/112763#.UqxuVjSDv7g.blogger" target="_blank">Modernity is not ‘anti-religious’: Weber - Tehran Times</a><br />
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Visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and on <a href="https://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>, and connect with me on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-38547318058965403522013-12-12T07:30:00.001-08:002014-01-15T12:20:11.782-08:00Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue now out <h2>
<i>Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue</i> now out </h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, a division of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, November / December 2013.</span></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgky7Q66nDxT8a8ACy7_fpU09pc4yUEnmnIPNN5NRuww5iD0VMqFzSqKT0ZzzIuAlMyC4XlyR-YZ9E6Q1QLEve60PW-nEvozuP4suyLmhDNMbta5pzTseRDWk_BuCA-0ggGwUIOL_mYQcqQ/s1600/DemocracyCovers200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgky7Q66nDxT8a8ACy7_fpU09pc4yUEnmnIPNN5NRuww5iD0VMqFzSqKT0ZzzIuAlMyC4XlyR-YZ9E6Q1QLEve60PW-nEvozuP4suyLmhDNMbta5pzTseRDWk_BuCA-0ggGwUIOL_mYQcqQ/s1600/DemocracyCovers200.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover art by Ashley Cecil (<a href="http://www.ashleycecil.com/">www.AshleyCecil.com</a>)<br />
<a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/DemocracyCovers.pdf" target="_blank">Large PDF of the front & back covers <b>here</b></a> .</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</a><br />
Associate Professor of Public Policy Leadership<br />
The University of Mississippi<br />
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Available online on the <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228" target="_blank">Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group's Web site <b>here</b></a> - with 20% discount code: LEX20AUTH13.<br />
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The book is also available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0739151223" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> (including <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0739151223" target="_blank">UK</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0739151223" target="_blank">CA</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.fr/dp/0739151223" target="_blank">FR</a>, among others) & <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/democracy-and-leadership-eric-thomas-weber/1116819258?ean=9780739151228" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">About the book: </strong></span><br />
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> presents a theory of leadership drawing on insights from Plato’s Republic, while abandoning his authoritarianism in favor of John Dewey’s democratic thought. The book continues the democratic turn for the study of leadership beyond the incorporation of democratic values into old-fashioned views about leading. The completed democratic turn leaves behind the traditional focus on a class of special people. Instead, leadership is understood as a process of judicious yet courageous guidance, infused with democratic values and open to all people.</span><br />
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br />Editorial reviews: </strong></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“This book will certainly re-orient the field of leadership studies, but its impact will extend beyond that field. By connecting leadership with broader issues about participatory democracy, Weber will find grateful readers across political theory. He strikes a tone of optimistic practicality that especially rings true for pragmatic generation Xers and civic-minded Millennials. This book and its author are positioned as precisely that sort of new public voice capable of leading the next generations as they rise into political power and leadership themselves.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">– </span><a href="http://shook.pragmatism.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Dr. John Robert Shook, University at Buffalo, New York</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“From Plato through today’s college students, Eric Weber’s </span><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Democracy and Leadership</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> carefully examines the pedagogy of leadership development. Because the book is so rich in content and style, you can add Weber’s name to a select list of noted Southern scholars and writers.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">– </span><a href="http://clintonschool.uasys.edu/faculty-research/james-l-skip-rutherford-dean/" style="border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="b">Dean James L. “Skip” Rutherford, The Clinton School of Public Service, The University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“This superbly researched and written book defines more clearly than anything that I have read in recent years the elements that are essential for a democratic political system to fulfill its proper mission. Coming as it does in a time of diminished public decision-making capability, particularly at the national governmental level, this volume points the way out of our current malaise. It should be read by every citizen who wants to see our system work as well as it is capable of. As a former governor of Mississippi, I can attest to the value of the wise and pragmatic counsel which it contains.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">– </span><a href="http://www.joneswalker.com/professionals-537.html" style="border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Honorable William Winter, Governor of Mississippi from 1972-1976 and from 1980-1984, the “Education Governor.”</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Learn More</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you'd like to learn more about my further work and writings, visit <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank"><b>EricThomasWeber.org</b></a>, follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank"><b>Twitter</b></a>, connect with me on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank"><b>LinkedIn</b></a>, or follow me on <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank"><b>Academia.edu</b></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition, if you like the cover, see <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/images/AshleyCecil-bluegrassreport-1024.jpg" target="_blank">Ashley Cecil's full painting here</a>, and visit her Web site: <a href="http://www.ashleycecil.com/" target="_blank">www.AshleyCecil.com</a>.</span></div>
Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-81898614538639501972013-08-15T08:22:00.001-07:002013-08-15T08:22:36.795-07:00'Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue,' set for release in Dec 2013For more info, visit<span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">: </span><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">EricThomasWeber.org</a><span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;"> and c</span><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">onnect on </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">, </span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">, and </span><a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">. </span><br />
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<i style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">Democracy and Leadership: </i><i style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">On Pragmatism and Virtue </i></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EBAkGo_xdMsko0jIP6Tb8Go_pffFJazf9GX_uYKK-hYIoma8PYnA3DDp7YOpcWZhk-dYn0FSo8GjhHPR3KeRP0XCsRmz8AZDhV4Q-ly7Xq0PmnoMCjXeiQixH7_Zl4PK3BC1MIM93XUQ/s1600/AshleyCecil-bluegrassreport-200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Thumbnail photo of Ashley Cecil's "Politician on a Podium," visit www.AshleyCecil.com." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EBAkGo_xdMsko0jIP6Tb8Go_pffFJazf9GX_uYKK-hYIoma8PYnA3DDp7YOpcWZhk-dYn0FSo8GjhHPR3KeRP0XCsRmz8AZDhV4Q-ly7Xq0PmnoMCjXeiQixH7_Zl4PK3BC1MIM93XUQ/s1600/AshleyCecil-bluegrassreport-200.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Ashley Cecil (www.AshleyCecil.com)</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;"><i><a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228" target="_blank">Democracy and Leadership</a></i> is the product of five years of research. When I moved to the University of Mississippi in 2007 to teach in the department of Public Policy Leadership, I had only studied leadership tangentially in connection with ethics and political philosophy applied to public policy. My second book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441144811/" target="_blank">Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</a></i> (Continuum 2011) touched on leadership in the arena of public policy, but focused </span><span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;">uniquely </span><span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;">on how to think about its moral dimensions in the face of competing moral outlooks. In that work, I defended the theory called <a href="http://www.academia.edu/904858/What_Experimentalism_Means_in_Ethics" target="_blank">experimentalism</a>. While working on that book, I encountered some strange articles in the field of leadership studies, which asked whether it makes any sense to speak of democratic leadership. One article suggested that it might be a contradiction in terms.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;">When I looked to theories of leadership, very little work addressed basic philosophical questions about how to understand the concept. We all know and have heard about some great leaders, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so much scholarship on the subject of leadership tends to start there — with great leaders. Doing so, however, does little for an understanding of leadership in general. Instead, it offers insight about a great leader, or about some special leaders of note. Famous leaders might teach us all lessons about leadership, to be sure, but they might also bear characteristics that do not make sense to apply to others. Consider by analogy the idea that a small liberal arts or community college might try to do as Harvard University does. In a few matters, it may be a good idea to mimic Harvard's practices. In countless other contexts, however, it makes no sense to imitate a university that is very different and remarkably unique. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;">When I reviewed the literature on leadership, I was astonished at the lack of contemporary philosophical study of the concept. To say that there are a handful of philosophers studying leadership would almost be an exaggeration. At first I could not make sense of this. When you look to the tradition of philosophy, there are rich resources for thinking about leadership. Among the most influential and oldest is Plato's <i>Republic</i>. The <i>Republic</i> considers what kind of society is virtuous and what kind of social system Plato thought would be necessary for it, including a special leadership class of rulers. Returning to Plato for initial considerations about leadership, I stumbled on one possible reason why philosophers have avoided the study of leadership, for the most part. Plato thought that democracy is the absence of rulers. According to Plato's view, democracy lacks leadership.</span></div>
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Today, people proclaim democratic values and also the need for leadership. Therefore the public at least thinks that the ideas are consistent. They could be wrong, one might argue, but I think that they are not. The aim of <i>Democracy and Leadership</i> is to look to Plato for insights on leadership, while disagreeing with him about his views on democracy. The classic virtues of <i>wisdom</i>, <i>courage</i>, <i>moderation</i>, and <i>justice</i> need not be authoritarian in the way that he takes them. Instead, I draw from John Dewey's democratic theory to show how these virtues can be rendered democratic. In this way, I advance a general and then a particularly democratic theory of leadership rooted in these four classical virtues. Perhaps the most important change I make from Plato's outlook, however, is the abandonment of the idea that leadership refers to a special class of persons. That view is a lingering authoritarian assumption and value which infuses and plagues leadership theory today. People speak of democratic values in theories like "servant leadership" or "catalytic leadership," but the radical change I advance demands that we think of leadership as a process, not as a person. </div>
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When we abandon the class outlook on leadership in favor of a process and virtue centered model, and then frame the latter with democratic values, a theory of democratic leadership emerges which offers valuable insights for the public sphere. I am very happy to say that the beloved former <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#dl" target="_blank">Mississippi governor William Winter</a> believes that the democratic theory of leadership developed in this book has a lot to offer for addressing today's challenges.* </div>
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If you are interested in learning more about <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>, such as in reading reviews from scholars and former Mississippi governor William Winter, visit the <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228" target="_blank">Rowman and Littlefield site for the book</a>. The book will be released in hardback in December of 2013. The initial target market is academic libraries and scholars who might review the book, though a discount code will be available for individuals soon. <a href="mailto:etweber@olemiss.edu" target="_blank">Contact me</a> (<a href="mailto:etweber@olemiss.edu">etweber@olemiss.edu</a>) if you are interested in that.</div>
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The painting hereabove, "Politician on a Podium," is used courtesy of Ashley Cecil. Visit <a href="http://www.ashleycecil.com/">www.AshleyCecil.com</a>. You can also see <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/images/AshleyCecil-bluegrassreport-1024.jpg" target="_blank">a larger version of the painting here</a>.</div>
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<b>The Rowman and Littlefield page for the book: </b></div>
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<a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228">https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739151228</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* The <a href="http://winterinstitute.org/" target="_blank">William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation</a> at the University of Mississippi is named in his honor and funded by the Kellogg Foundation. In addition, their Director, Dr. Susan Glisson, whom I'm honored to have as a colleague, was recently named one of the "<a href="http://www.southernliving.com/travel/new-heroes-civil-rights-susan-glisson-00417000083903/" target="_blank">new Civil Rights heroes</a>."</span></div>
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Again, for more info, visit<span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">: </span><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">EricThomasWeber.org</a><span style="line-height: 19.58333396911621px;"> and c</span><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">onnect on </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">, </span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">, and </span><a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a><span style="line-height: 19.58806800842285px;">. </span><br />
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Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-72923610072231449292013-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:002013-07-18T14:21:55.249-07:00On Starting Out as a WriterIf you enjoy this article, visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a> and connect with me on <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.<br />
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On Starting Out as a Writer</h2>
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I received an inquiry today from Montique Clark on LinkedIn. I had posted about the fact that I've just sent an article to a journal that is very proud of its incredibly high rejection rate. The good thing about this particular publication is that they answer you quite promptly, in general. The reason is that the journal has committed to either answer you very quickly or to give you feedback on your submission. Giving feedback takes time, so that motivates them to say no very quickly to more than 93 percent of submissions. From the author's standpoint, that means it's unlikely to land one's piece there, but why not try? After all, you'll know quickly whether they're not interested. It doesn't hurt them, furthermore, since they're proud of a high rejection rate. If you know that the first great place isn't interested, you can then move on to the next possible outlet, feeling confident that at least you tried.</div>
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Montique explained that she's interested in writing and would like some suggestions for getting started. Here are a few thoughts for anyone who is thinking about starting out as a writer. I'm no famous writer, but I've been studying the publishing industry and process and have plans in motion for a career of writing, ideally for wide audiences in time.</div>
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For scholars who are looking to land their first publications, the typical advice is excellent: Start with a book review. An incredible number of books are published every year, even though we're told the print industry is on its way out. Given the volume of books released, publishers struggle for attention. One way they get it is by sending free books to outlets that review them. For scholars, that generally means scholarly journals. If you're not too interested in more technical or academic readership, then consider looking to the many publications, often magazines -- which today are becoming "e-zines." Many of them review books that are sent to them and welcome volunteers to read the books and send in carefully written, short reviews. Reviewing books provides a service to the public, that can now choose book purchases with a bit more information in advance. It also gets you a free copy of the book. In addition, it gives you a chance to thinking about your own writing while you review someone else's. Finally, it gives you a very beneficial chance to be published and to start building your track record.</div>
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Among scholarly outlets, the journals in one's field are the ones to look to, checking whether they publish reviews and who is the review editor. For general audience or non-academic audience authors, look to the relevant trade magazines related to your interests. Find the stuff you like to read and see whether it includes opportunities to write reviews. If you're having a hard time finding an outlet, go to your library to find the year's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2013-Writers-Market-Robert-Brewer/dp/1599635933" target="_blank">Writer's Market</a> book (released by Writer's Digest Books), or spring for it yourself, if your library's copy is old. The book's got a few informative essays, but it's amazing value is that it is like a phone book of writing opportunities. You'll find info about countless outlets for publishing your work, some of which are paid and some of which are not.</div>
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This leads me to an important point. If getting paid for your writing is important to you, know that it will take time to get there. I've been paid a little bit for some of my writings, but the vast majority of them have not come with financial compensation. Writing certainly can be a paying occupation. Syndicated authors can make millions of dollars, even if that's mainly the rock-stars of writing. Nevertheless, if you're getting your start as a writer, you need to invest considerable time on the front end, to build your skills, network, and audience, and to hone your voice as a writer. I've heard that a big deal author in my town had to invest in his own writing, self-publishing his first book, which was no real success until his second book was turned into a movie. Be patient, and start writing because you love to do it. If you don't love to write, it's probably best to stop thinking about a career in it (whether "career" refers to lifetime or source of income). I'll come back to ways of getting paid for writing in a moment. For now, though, know that it will take some time to invest in one's writing career.</div>
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Another route to getting started as a writer is through letters to the editor. If you start with your local paper, not the <i>New York Times</i>, landing a letter to the editor is pretty easy. They're often quite short too, so that means you can get one done quickly. The nice thing about short pieces like letters to the editor or op-eds is that you can have a first draft done quickly. The challenging and exciting part about writing them, though, is that given how short they are, it doesn't take so much time to go over them 20 or 40 or 50 times. Yes, that many times. Comb over every word. Decide whether you're being as economical as you can be (a practice I'm not exercising in this blog post, to be sure). Write with pith, power, relevance, and sincerity. Pitch a letter to the editor, land a few, and suddenly the editor at a regional newspaper knows your name. Letters to the editor are a great first step comparable to book reviews, though shorter.</div>
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Once an editor knows your name, consider that many local or regional newspapers post the contact info for their editors on their Web sites. Give him or her a call. Talk over your interest in writing a piece for the paper, and pitch -- briefly -- four or five ideas that you might write about. This is vital, since you could otherwise end up spending a lot of time on a piece that a newspaper editor wouldn't find particularly newsworthy. Always think about the gatekeepers and their interests. Consider their interests while you speak to an audience and you'll be on the right track. When an editor gives you no positive feedback, it's time to approach another outlet. Give it time too, and then come back to the first paper with new ideas. If the editor nibbles, he or she will generally look at a draft of your submission on the piece of interest. Know too that it's invigorating to write about a subject that a news editor thinks is interesting and worth reviewing. You'll already have surmounted one of the big challenges.</div>
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Once you've got permission to send the editor a piece, comb over your draft 50 times. Yes, 50 times. It's only about 500 words anyway. If you go over it 5 times an hour, you can send it to him in 3 or 4 days, even if you're writing in your spare time. When you've combed through a piece that many times, you'll find your words are carefully chiseled, and ideally they reveal just what you mean on a topic that is both interesting and important to you and to your target audience. Send it in. If it is accepted for publication, make sure to buy a copy or two and to scan it into the computer. Make a digital scrapbook of these pieces, and soon you'll have a track record of writings. A lot of these points pertain to magazine writing also, though some magazines just want to see your submission first. Then again, magazines will often publish book reviews, so look into that first. </div>
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Once you've got a relationship with one or more newspapers, think about making your contributions regularly. What kind of themed column could you put together, contributing once a month or eveyr two weeks in a way that is valued among the people in your audience. Publishers all the time buy syndicated material because they don't have enough local material, or because they need a balance of subject matter. In any case, if you put together a column and publish it regularly, you might find that other papers are interested in publishing the same column. Boom. You've just become a self-syndicated columnist. You're reaching a wide audience and doing so regularly. Now guess who's interested in you. People who like your ability to reach an audience, namely literary agents. They'll help you (and be highly necessary in most cases) to land your book proposal with a major publisher. The publisher, like Random House, Vintage, etc., is interested both in quality work AND in the author's ability to reach an audience. After all, doing so means you can let your loyal audience know about your forthcoming book. They need to know about it and be interested in you in order to be motivated to buy your book.</div>
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<div>
When you get to that point, you might start making some real money, maybe. It depends on the audience for your book. If people are so interested in it that they invite you to come speak about it, you could earn some money for such efforts. Also, along the way, your newspaper columns might earn you some money, a lot if your pieces start to come out in hundreds of newspapers or more. At the same time, though, if you've made a great impression with a magazine or newspaper, you might find that a salaried position as a writer is even better, more stable, etc. More power to you. There are many ways to get involved and to make writing a career. For a lot of people like me, though, there are ways to align one's work or free-time enjoyment with our passion for writing. In such cases, money's not the object, and the goal is really to participate in our democratic conversation about things that matter to us and to others. </div>
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To my mind, that is the big reason to be a writer. It's to contribute to the public discourse. If you don't speak up, others will. You might not like what you hear. So, either speak up, or your complaints will only be heard by your Facebook friends. There are many ways to become a writer. Going to grad school isn't a typically good one for becoming a widely read author. After all, at one time I heard that the average academic journal article is read by 7 people. The point there is not the same as writing for general audiences, of course, but it is writing nonetheless, and can be joyful. If you want to learn more about writing, check out some of the following books. I will warn you that, sadly, one or two of the books that are valuable for learning about writing careers are themselves poorly written. As strange as that may sound, it is still true that they contain valuable information about what it takes to be a professional writer. </div>
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<div>
I am sure that this is much more than what Montique was looking for. Don't worry. I won't mind if people skim this. In a sense, here's another value of writing, such as on blogs like this one: it's often helpful to organize one's ideas just for oneself. To get clear on what we're doing, how, and why is an invaluable benefit of writing. So thank you, Montique, for the opportunity to reflect on getting one's start as a writer. I hope that some of this proves helpful for you and for others. It certainly has gotten me thinking again about strategy and the big picture for my career as a writer.</div>
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<b>Resources:</b></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>2013 Writer's Market</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1599635933/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1599635933/</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<i>2013 Guide to Literary Agents</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1599635976/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1599635976/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Get Known before the Book Deal</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/158297554X/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/158297554X/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Thinking Like Your Editor</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393324613/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393324613/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>From Dissertation to Book</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0226288463/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/0226288463/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Book Proposals that Sell</i>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932124640/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932124640/</a></div>
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<div>
Eric Thomas Weber, Ph.D. is associate professor of public policy leadership at the University of Mississippi, representing only his own views in this article. His third book, <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>, will be published in December of 2013. If you enjoy this article, visit my Web site: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a> and connect with me on <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a>.</div>
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Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-63907710766012855782013-07-12T07:34:00.003-07:002013-07-12T07:34:54.455-07:00"Greening Industry and Green Industries in Mississippi," Eric Thomas Weber, From ProBizMS.com, 2012You can visit my Web site: <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">EricThomasWeber.org</a> and connect with me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/erictweber" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/etweber" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, and <a href="http://olemiss.academia.edu/EricWeber" target="_blank">Academia.edu</a><br />
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It has been quite some time since I've posted my writings on my blog. I've been writing for wide outlets over the last year, though less frequently than I have before. The reason is that I had gotten quite behind on a book manuscript that I <i>had</i> to finish up. The book is titled <i><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#books" target="_blank">Democracy and Leadership</a> </i>and will be out this year, I'm happy to report. That said, it's time I get caught up on reposting public writings on my blog.<br />
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I post pieces here partly to collect these writings for my online scrapbook, in a sense. More than that, there are many outlets that archive writings, though they let me repost them if I wish. So, rather than let pieces be accessed only behind a paywall, I will continue reposting them here.<br />
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The piece below came out in 2012, but still speaks to what I've been thinking about potential growth for business in Mississippi and around the country. It came out in <a href="http://probizms.com/">ProBizMS.com</a>, the online version of a Mississippi periodical that has now gone wholly digital.<br />
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Here's the piece:<br />
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<h1 class="page-title" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: url(http://probizms.com/wp-content/themes/magazon-wp/assets/images/category-heading-bg.png); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 28px; font-weight: 200; line-height: 34px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
Greening Industry and Green Industries in Mississippi</h1>
By <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber</a><br />
First published on 4/8/12 (<a href="http://probizms.com/columns/greening-industry-and-green-industries-in-mississippi/" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">For quite some time, people have associated environmentally
focused efforts with the Democratic Party, and hence with partisan
disagreements. Fortunately today people
are coming to see that environmental friendliness generally saves money and is
a cause motivating big business development.
Mississippi could benefit from greater understanding of environmentally
friendly developments. There are many
opportunities for industry to save money through greening efforts and also for
businesses to expand in the areas that service demand for green technologies
and energy saving investments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">President Carter put up </span><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carter-white-house-solar-panel-array" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">solar panels on the Whitehouse</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, which were soon after removed in </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-05/solar-panels-on-white-house-roof-removed-by-reagan-to-return-under-obama.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Reagan’s administration</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">.
Then, Vice President Al Gore came to be well known for his advocacy on
environmental issues, to the point that he has been a key spokesman for related
movements. Opposition to environmentally
beneficial technologies were often motivated by a desire to keep industry free
from excess government imposition. Plus,
religious motivations were at times raised, with the explanation that the Earth
was created for mankind’s use. Human
beings have dominion over the Earth, so why not make use of it as we please?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">In the last few years, a number of
factors have refocused discussions about the environment. First, rising gas prices have called into
question for many the wisdom of driving Hummers, for instance. I suspect that they might be incredibly fun
to drive in obstacle courses, but regular travel would be hugely expensive in
one, compared with the great, fuel efficient cars that are taking over the
market. In a Toyota Prius, for example,
my family and I can drive to Atlanta, 6 hours away from Oxford, MS, on slightly
less than 10 gallons of gas. With
regular driving in the last few years, the fuel efficient car has been
fantastic for us. Whether one feels for
environmental considerations or not, people can understand the savings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It helps, I think, to note the
differences between people’s experiences of environmental forces. For example, having lived near New York City,
then in Atlanta and Nashville, I saw recycling efforts everywhere I have
lived. There are prices associated with
landfills. The farther away are the
landfills, the more fuel is spent bringing trash to dumps. Plus, the slower one fills a dump, the
cheaper it is – the more delayed further costs are. So, recycling in my experience has always had
a clear and substantial impact economically on large population centers I have
known. Now that I live in Mississippi,
by contrast, land is quite cheap and the motivation for recycling is far weaker
here. Add that to the history of
associating the practice with the minority political party in the state and it
becomes easier to understand why the recycling movement has only lately caught
on in small towns in the state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Two developments, one at the national
level and the other at the state level, have inspired some changes as
well. Historically strong critics of
people like Al Gore, such as Rupert Murdoch, who owns News Corp and thus Fox
News and the Wall Street Journal, have come to see the powerful forces of
environmental change. Murdoch saw the
spreading wildfires in his native Australia and understood quickly that
climates have changed, leading to dangerous conditions for a number of parts of
the world. He wrote a letter called
“Duty to the Future,” published on the </span><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/media-blog/36210/fox-news-goes-green/greg-pollowitz" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">National Review Online</span></i></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, explaining why his companies were going green. Beyond Murdoch, Pat Robertson has helped
reshape the religious message on the Right about the environment, to recognize
the idea that dominion over the Earth is consistent with the demands of
stewardship of such a great gift from the Divine. He made a </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhmpsUMdTH8" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">fun commercial</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> with Reverend Al Sharpton for the sake of seeking common
ground about the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The second development is that
Mississippians recently experienced significant environmental problems. People all around were saddened by the photos
of wildlife affected by the B.P. oil spill.
Mississippi’s shrimping and coastal tourism industries were deeply
affected for some time. Beyond that,
many people who have been quiet about the environment, but who have loved it
all along have begun speaking up. In
particular, I am thinking of hunters, who love the outdoors, the beauty of
creatures and the connection to the world that capturing your own food can
motivate. In fact, people often forget
that the environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold was a hunter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A bright conservative student of mine
at the University of Mississippi, Elliott Warren, had a number of these
connections click. His love of hunting
and the outdoors motivated action and leadership for green initiatives on
campus. He was so driven and successful that
he won a </span><a href="http://www.olemiss.edu/green/sla_2011winners.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Sustainability Leadership Award</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> the next year at the University of
Mississippi. He is centrally responsible
for the great program of game-day recycling for football games at the
university, which has kept literally tons of waste from going into the ground. Instead, the new program provides the city of
Oxford with materials that it can sell to companies seeking cost-saving recyclables. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">With all of these developments in the
background, there are nevertheless those who are skeptical of “green”
initiatives, like the one the </span><a href="http://www.olemiss.edu/green/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">University of Mississippi signed</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> a few years ago. However particular people feel about this initiative,
there are great examples of substantial savings already at work on campus, and
ones that can be emulated in various ways by businesses around the state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I work in Odom Hall, which is one of
the wings of the building called the Trent Lott Leadership Institute. I have learned from campus sources that our
building in peak hours uses 65 to 70 Kilowatts per hour for its power. Nearby, the newly built Center for
Manufacturing Excellence, a larger building, had solar panels installed on its
roof. The panels do not provide all the
power for that building, to be sure, since it is a very large building. But, they do provide more in peak hours than
my building</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">uses in its
peak hours. Those panels produce 80 to
90 Kilowatts per hour in their peak hours.
They generate 8 megawatts per month on average, according to Professor
James Vaughn, Director of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the
university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Investments in technologies like the
panels atop the Center for Manufacturing Excellence may not yet be feasible for
widespread use in homes or in smaller businesses around the state, of
course. But, technologies like these are
</span><a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/122231-solar-panels-made-with-ion-cannon-are-cheap-enough-to-challenge-fossil-fuels" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">getting cheaper and cheaper</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> to make. Plus, there are countless efforts that are low
in cost to adopt. A student of mine years
ago gave a speech in one of my courses and convinced me to change to compact
fluorescent bulbs around the house. The
next month, I saw a drop in my electricity bill from the previous month and in comparison
with the year before. The initial
investment was about $150 for all new bulbs.
Many people are using low water usage toilets and shower heads now, for
similar reasons. Better insulation can
make a big difference in the summer heat as well, of course, and all of these
efforts are small and accessible ways that business can shave costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Those larger institutions that have
to do maintenance with some regularity, furthermore, such as the university,
which has projects and updates to complete each year, can budget for the
long-term benefits of doing things in the smartest way with regard to
energy. Many of these ideas involve small
changes, but can make a difference to the bottom line. Plus, when one makes an effort in this way,
we can brag about it to those who will be attracted by the idea. My favorite Oxford dry cleaner, Rainbow
Cleaners, for example, posts notices about the new methods it uses to cut down
on waste products and energy use. Plus,
companies that profit from doing what is less responsible, morally speaking, sometimes
get hit hard </span><a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/1977/09/pinto-madness"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">in lawsuits</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, when the results really hurt
people, or in </span><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/obituaries/s_715285.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">public image</span></a> at least<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, which is itself a very expensive
thing to clean up once tarnished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Beyond the process of making industry
“greener,” there is also exciting growth taking place in Mississippi in “green”
industries. Both of these terms,
“greening” industry and “green” industries, are worth encouraging. “Greening industry” is the process of making
industries and institutions more energy efficient, which makes for savings in
money and from unwanted environmental effects.
It can include cutting costs on public schools and other government
buildings as well as in introducing cost saving measures in the private sector. Next, “green industries” are generally
associated with things like electric windmills, fuel efficient cars, and solar
panels, but they refer equally, in my view, to the sale of products and
services that somehow take advantage of more energy efficient means of
production or usage, or of products made from materials that cost less
environmentally speaking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Green products can be quite simple,
not always technical in nature. When
shopping at Walmart, if you have not tried out their great “</span><a href="http://walmartstores.com/sustainability/7990.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Reusable Bags</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">,” you have no idea what you are
missing. They cost 50 cents each. I use these bags everyday for all sorts of
reasons, including for carrying my lunch to work or groceries home from the
store. Granted, you have to pay for
these once, but they are much more comfortable to carry than everyday plastic
bags – given their thick handles – and they hold much more and more robustly,
all while being light to carry. Plus,
they are strong, have many uses, and also are made of reusable plastic that
would otherwise eventually cost us money to throw in landfills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The more sophisticated forms of
“green industries” are growing also, and in Mississippi. Among these are </span><a href="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/04/twin-creeks-to-build-pv-manufacturing-plant-in-mississippi" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Twin Creaks</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, </span><a href="http://www.stion.com/press-releases/110104_Stion_Announces_New_Facility.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Stion</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, and </span><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20025504-54.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Soladigm</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">, to name a few. A former student of mine landed a job right
after graduation in 2011 with one of these companies and had only exciting
things to report about his experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">There are other countries and other
states fighting to be at the forefront of business development in green
industries. There are also other states
doing more with tax incentives than we do in Mississippi to empower individuals
and institutions to green their workplaces.
At the same time, Mississippi has advantages for attracting business and
can build on these, including low taxes.
We can also work to take advantage of the recent developments through
which people have come to see that “green” is not a partisan issue. It is at times a matter of cost savings and at
others of potential new markets. We
should welcome our new opportunities and think about how we can build on them for
cost savings and profit. Here at the
University of Mississippi, where tuition is around $6,000 per year, we can
envision energy savings translating into the language of scholarships made
possible per month, for example. When
buildings cost thousands of dollars per month to power, the value of alternate
energy sources that can offset big institutional costs become easier to imagine
and understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If you are thinking of moving in the
direction of energy cost savings only, there are do-it-yourself options
available at places like Home Depot, which has a </span><a href="http://www6.homedepot.com/earthday/L105066_GreenGuide_Book.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">great guide online</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> about all manner of products that
can save money and energy in the long-run.
There are many more of these as public awareness continues to grow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">We can all see that gas prices at
best will only rise more slowly even if new sources are found. It makes a lot of sense for business people
to think of long-term investments. We
can save money, and make more too, by thinking about industries that until
recently seemed only to be of interest to small numbers of Mississippians. Today, minds have changed and a culture has
set in that recognizes the need and opportunity for growth in green industries
and in greening industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber
is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of
Mississippi and author of three books, including <i>Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</i> (2011) and the forthcoming <i>Democracy and Leadership</i> (2013). He is expressing only his own point of view
here. Follow him on </span></b><a href="http://www.twitter.com/EricTWeber" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Twitter.com/EricTWeber</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> and visit his Web site at </span></b><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">EricThomasWeber.org</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">.</span></b></div>
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Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-12003054769285457962012-04-08T07:02:00.000-07:002012-04-08T07:02:22.178-07:00My op-ed titled "Teachers Offer Hope for Mississippi," in The Clarion Ledger, April 8, 2012, 1C-2C.As always, visit my Web site at: <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" target="_blank">http://www.EricThomasWeber.org</a> and follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber">Twitter.com/erictweber</a>.<br />
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I've got a <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-TeachersOfferHope-Scan.pdf" target="_blank">scanned version of my piece here</a>, and the text of it below in this blog post. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57NB_WJ5QtrZZFOuoVNQnt8DgOsglMkSPOVTlBeTl7V8RXp__ynBVeTl3zuCX_UdZyD5Gvhv9Tinvx40XXUAPX7-Ww7S2JDNEGKYk5bgZWbPZdWrpMAPN9b0-Qxr266VByRkVnyDqWK7p/s1600/Thumb-EdPiece-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Thumbnail photo of the scan of my piece." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57NB_WJ5QtrZZFOuoVNQnt8DgOsglMkSPOVTlBeTl7V8RXp__ynBVeTl3zuCX_UdZyD5Gvhv9Tinvx40XXUAPX7-Ww7S2JDNEGKYk5bgZWbPZdWrpMAPN9b0-Qxr266VByRkVnyDqWK7p/s1600/Thumb-EdPiece-2012.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(You can <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-TeachersOfferHope-Scan.pdf" target="_blank">click here for the scanned version</a>.)</td></tr>
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The following is the text for my piece, "Teachers Offer Hope for Mississippi," which came out in<i> The Clarion Ledger</i>, of Jackson, MS, on April 8th, 2012, pages 1C-2C. I repost my articles here, since the pieces get archived after a week and I've been given permission to post them here to keep them available to the public.<br />
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<h1>Teachers offer hope</h1><h2>Teach for America, Teacher Corps draw top students, but not panaceas</h2>Former Gov. Haley Barbour once called education Mississippi's No. 1 economic development issue. Former Gov. Winter often said that "The road out of poverty runs by the schoolhouse."<br />
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<span class="pp"></span>Two recent developments are reasons to be hopeful about education in Mississippi. For one, a number of extraordinary graduating college students in Mississippi have made it into Teach For America and the Mississippi Teacher Corps, both very selective programs.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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The second story is that Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves call for budget increases for TFA and MTC, requesting increases of $12 million and $1 million, respectively. The programs address the need for more teachers in the state, thus increased support would make a difference.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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These developments are good news, even if criticisms are raised when leaders depend too much on such programs. To appreciate both points of view, we can say that TFA and the MTC do great work, but they do represent temporary solutions to our long-term educational challenges. Overall, the best news is that many of our brightest students are looking to serve the state and the country in this vital area.<br />
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TFA and MTC are special programs that bring some of the brightest new college graduates to teach in impoverished areas. Both programs are attracting truly remarkable talent.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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In 2011, TFA received 48,000 applications from around the country, according to Regional Communications Director Kaitlin Gastrock. Only 14 percent of applicants were accepted. MTC, a state program, received 380 applications last year and accepted only 10 percent of those. As a reference, TFA's acceptance rate is more selective than what you find in undergraduate admissions to Vanderbilt, Duke, and the University of Chicago.<br />
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TFA and MTC are drawing a great deal of interest and are selecting from very strong applicants.<br />
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This year, a number of University of Mississippi students were accepted into these competitive programs. Both categories include a number of Honors College students and one is a Phi Beta Kappa honoree. These are some of the strongest students at the University of Mississippi.<br />
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MTC Program Manager Ben Guest has argued that teacher quality and availability are two of the most important areas of need for Mississippi's schools. He thinks that the state should significantly increase teacher salaries to draw strong career teachers.<br />
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At the same time, he advocates for MTC and TFA as temporary measures, until the public will is garnered to undertake bigger, needed investment.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Guest and others think that TFA throws underprepared teachers into some of the most challenging classrooms in the country. Professor Deborah Appleman of Carleton College argued in 2009 that teaching takes a great deal of preparation, and TFA provides only a very brief introduction to the practice.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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On the issue of preparation, studies are inconclusive. Some, such as the 2004 Mathematica Policy Research study, are favorable about the outcomes from TFA taught students.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Other studies, such as Linda Darling-Hammond's 2005 study, show some results of TFA classrooms to be below average. Variations will always occur in teaching, of course, and more study is needed.<span class="aa"></span><br />
<span class="pp"></span>Nevertheless, Guest and Appleman argue for more robust teacher preparation processes, given long-term goals for public schools. Measures like MTC and TFA are valuable in the short-run, furthermore, but could be used as excuses not to make larger investments in increased teacher preparation and salaries to fill the need for career teachers.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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The standard reply to calls for increased salaries is that "more funding is not the solution." Two points are worth considering here.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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The first is that unless we are spending considerably more than other states with higher rates of educational attainment, the assumption is untested. According to a 2009 U.S. Census Bureau report, Mississippi spent $8,919 per pupil per year. By contrast, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Alaska each spent more than $15,000 per pupil, while yielding stronger graduation rates than Mississippi's, according to the New America Foundation.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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The second point is that troubled and failing schools can require more money per pupil than successful schools, and beyond any present differences in funding. Bigger challenges normally come with higher price tags.<br />
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Modest increases in funding may not make much difference, as the key challenge suggests, but substantial investments very well could.<br />
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<span class="pp"></span>My favorite analogy is that hopping a curb in a car may not work with only small nudges on the gas. More substantial efforts, however, more gas, might get the desired result.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Guest recognizes that big changes are difficult to achieve, of course. He and others do what they can to address deep problems in our schools with programs like TFA and MTC, but not without recognition of the programs' limited goals and reach.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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There is more value to both the teachers in TFA and MTC and their students than people commonly recognize. First, there are few settings as rich for professional development as classrooms. The classroom is one of the most extensive systems where the rubber meets the road every day in terms of public policy's connection to real-life challenges. Plus, in the mechanics of the classroom, teachers learn about people and communities that they were unfamiliar with before.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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They gain public speaking skills, facilitation skills, as well as political acumen, as they navigate personalities and hierarchies within the schools.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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A further benefit gained from TFA and MTC teachers goes beyond class material, in exposing kids to talented and caring young college graduates. Cultural obstacles often impede progress in addressing both poverty and educational attainment. For, if students are unable to imagine themselves successful in school, why try? TFA and MTC participants can help their students to imagine themselves as young college graduates.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Participants in TFA and MTC may go on teaching or may run for local or state office after their service. They certainly have substance to draw on for making policy recommendations about education in Mississippi once they finish.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Given the professional development that occurs in the classroom, prospective employers should be eager to hire alums of TFA and MTC. Consider what effect two years of maturation beyond college yield for those who go through the programs. Participants have demonstrated their interest in service and have refined their abilities as communicators, critical thinkers, and leaders. These programs benefit participants in ways that will last throughout their careers.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Even with these virtues, TFA and MTC are not panaceas. They offer a path for talented students to serve their state or country. The programs keep talented people in the state and draw talent from elsewhere. Praise for the programs should not discount the important considerations that Appleman and Guest raise, however: that TFA and MTC are not substitutes for adequately funded schools and competitive teacher salaries.<span class="aa"></span><br />
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Nevertheless, we have reason to celebrate. A large group of brilliant college graduates are looking to serve the state and the nation. Plus, the calls for support from the governor and lieutenant governor inspire hope that increased support for education and the will to pursue lasting progress are growing.<br />
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<strong>Dr. Eric Thomas Weber is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi and author of three books, including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Morality-Leadership-Public-Policy-ebook/dp/B007KYGMT2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333893204&sr=8-3" target="_blank"><i>Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</i></a> (2011) and the forthcoming <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>.</strong>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-86111483947086834452012-02-15T12:00:00.000-08:002012-02-15T12:00:55.798-08:00My piece in Science Progress on Sex Ed in MS, published 2/14/12 (just in time for Valentine's day)Again, as always, you can visit my Web site here: http://EricThomasWeber.org and follow me on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/EricTWeber. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/Weber-MississippiansAreReadyforComprehensiveSexEducation.pdf">Click here</a> to open a PDF of the article.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I put out a piece yesterday in <i>Science Progress</i> on the topic of sex education in Mississippi. The editors timed it nicely to come out on Valentine's Day. The piece spreads the word about a study that came out at the end of 2011 showing the strong acceptance of comprehensive sex education in the state. Unfortunately, policy on this issue significantly lags behind the people's wishes for change. <br />
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See my piece on the <i>Science Progress</i> <a href="http://scienceprogress.org/2012/02/mississippians-are-ready-for-comprehensive-sex-education/">Web site here</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-50602256615387624722012-02-15T11:51:00.000-08:002012-02-15T11:51:43.718-08:00Repost of Continuum's Philosophy BlogVisit my Web site here: http://EricThomasWeber.org and follow me on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/EricTWeber.<br />
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Here's a post on Continuum's Philosophy Blog that came out today:<br />
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<h3 class="entry-header" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://continuumphilosophy.typepad.com/continuum_philosophy/2012/02/2011-public-philosophy-op-ed-contest.html" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">2011 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest</a></h3><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; position: static; text-align: left;"><div class="entry-body" style="clear: both;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Public Philosophy is still accepting submissions for its <strong>2011 Op-Ed Contest</strong>. This year they are giving out up to 5 awards for standout pieces that blend successfully philosophical argumentation with an Op-Ed writing style.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">Eric Thomas Weber, Chair of the APA’s Committee on Public Philosophy and author of our <em><a href="http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=167889&SearchType=Basic" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism</a></em>(2010) and <em><a href="http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=158138&SearchType=Basic" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy </a></em>(2011) describes the award as a way to call attention to a valuable practice at which philosophers often excel. He writes that “Philosophers frequently make important contributions to public discourse, yet these are rarely rewarded in the profession. Through competitions like this one, the committee offers professional recognition and encouragement for this underappreciated yet much needed form of philosophical activity.” You can visit Eric’s website <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">here</a> or follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">here</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">The deadline for submissions and nominations is <strong>April 20th, 2012</strong>. For more information about the contest and guidelines, download the <a href="http://publicphilosophy.org/2011-CPP-Op-EdContest.pdf" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">full announcement flyer</a>. To learn more about the APA’s Committee on Public Philosophy and their activities, visit their <a href="http://publicphilosophy.org/" style="color: #003366;" target="_self">website</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"></div></div></div><br />
<a href="http://continuumphilosophy.typepad.com/continuum_philosophy/">Continuum's Philosophy blog is available here</a> and the post I've shared with you here is available on their site <a href="http://continuumphilosophy.typepad.com/continuum_philosophy/2012/02/2011-public-philosophy-op-ed-contest.html">here</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-56683709949629622762012-01-02T08:25:00.000-08:002012-01-02T08:25:51.486-08:00The Usefulness of Twitter: Formerly Perplexed to Newly InitiatedProblem: As a tech-savvy fellow, who manages half a dozen Web sites, uses three different computers, a smartphone, and an iPad, I nevertheless had the hardest time making any sense of Twitter. Twitter is something people talk a lot about, but few explain. Even as a Twitter account holder, I rarely used the thing and did not really understand its value. <br />
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I am now convinced. Twitter is quite remarkable. A number of my friends have been perplexed about Twitter also, so I am jotting a few words down to explain the usefulness I see in Twitter. I am going to assume the reader's familiarity with Facebook, a service more wide-spread in use than Twitter, but with a different purpose. Twitter is growing and is an impressive tool. <br />
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Twitter fills a niche. On first glance, it looks like a place to post Facebook status updates, but that can be viewed by everyone. In fact, you can make your Facebook page more public, but most people don't recommend that. Why? Because Facebook reveals quite a lot about your identity. In an age of identity theft, that's not often a good idea to do. Also, a common feature on Twitter is similarly available on Facebook: following a celebrity, opinion leader, newspaper, etc. But, there are important differences. Plus, one might think that 140 characters is not enough to say much. That's true. But just think about catchy news headlines. they're usually far fewer characters. Plus, you can link to things. So, as in this case, one can post to Twitter with a link to one's blog or to a site that has more information. Spreading the word with a blog, however, will only happen if you already have a lot of blog followers. As I don't at this point, and as Twitter is powerful for spreading messages, it can be the way to drive readers to sites or blogs.<br />
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What is remarkable about Twitter is the power it has to spread messages and to allow you to follow discussions about topics. I am a scholar of Philosophy, Public Policy, Leadership, and more, and each of these terms I can "follow" on Twitter. The idea is that whenever a person writes about a topic, he or she places a "#" tag before the word ("hash-tag," I've learned to call it, not a "pound sign"). What immediately follows that symbol is then viewable to whomever follows that term. <br />
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So, imagine going to a big conference. You want to keep up with what is going on there. Using a designated #tag for the event can allow you to follow updates about the event while it is going on. It is a bit like the big bulletin board chat spaces that used to only be available on desktop computers. Now you can chat with people on your cell phone. This could be incredibly useful. Also, if you are a scholar/researcher, the #tag is akin to Web readers that send you alerts anytime your political candidate or research subject is mentioned in the newspaper. The difference is that Twitter is a constant, ongoing conversation. I should add that the "@" tag links to users in much the same way. So, if you have something to say about Fareed Zakaria, his 100,000 follower list will see your post. <br />
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For anyone interested in research, therefore, which includes journalists, scholars, and many more, this is a very interesting and promising new tool. Given all my friends on Facebook who are scholars, I regularly find interesting links to news articles or journal articles there that are worth reading for my field. Imagine the same thing being an option with a far larger audience than my small list of (hundreds of) friends. A message posted by one person can be retweeted, furthermore, which is akin to "sharing" on Facebook, but unlike Facebook, you can spread the word to people who learn about any particular #tag. So, if there's an article anyone who studies philosophy should read, I can post a link to it on Twitter and add "#philosophy" to make sure that anyone following that tag sees it. <br />
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Beyond that, big names often direct their own twitter accounts. I've seen Fareed Zakaria respond to people directly on Twitter, when he might not respond to emails. You can understand why. If someone's comment is short, it is much more likely to be read. Although I've only put a few pieces in newspapers, I've gotten insanely long emails from people that I haven't had time to read. If they'd kept their messages short, I'd have been much more likely to read them in their entirety. And, keep in mind, I'm nobody. In this same context, Zakaria has responded to people just today. The accessibility of people, themes, and more is far more direct. <br />
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Now, one could reasonably argue that you can't say much in 140 characters. That's right. It's just like reading headlines when you visit CNN's page (their headlines are shorter than 140 characters, actually). The point is that you can glance through many headlines quickly, skipping over tons of stuff, and look only at those posts that catch your interest. Given that they often link elsewhere, you can then go read more and do so selectively. It's like Facebook in this regard, but with far more possible people to draw from, and with the added power to narrow what you read from them to only those things relevant to your own selected keywords.<br />
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Bottom line, why does this matter? A. You can follow opinion leaders, celebs, politicians, organizations you care about, or sports teams more quickly, directly, and immediately; B. You can spread a message like nobody's business if you're aiming to ("@nytimes," for instance, will reach more than 4 million people), such as about a political candidate, a pressing news story, a fundraising effort, or a change of location for the event you've organized; C. Your messages might have something to contribute to a variety of audiences, and if so, you can mention a person or several (@tag), as well as a topic or several (#tag), the audiences of which will see your link and message when you post it. <br />
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I should finally add that as a reader who does not care to post much in a public space, a person could nonetheless really be impressed with Twitter. The trick, I think, is to follow those newspapers, politicians, opinion leaders, etc., whom you find really interesting (<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/dishfeed">Andrew Sullivan's DISH</a> is very interesting, for example). Rather than going to their Web sites and browsing, you can have tags keep you up to date on those topics of greatest interest to you, and have those messages sent to you directly via the Twitter conduit. The possibilities for making use of this platform are remarkable. <br />
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Lots of people know this platform FAR better than I do. Posting here, I've probably understated many things that could be expanded upon or clarified elsewhere. For now, though, I thought it might be useful to share with others the reasons this new initiate (moi) has come to be highly impressed with a platform that sadly requires the use of the word "tweet" (I know, I know...). That aside, the potential for a new way to filter news (which is sometimes overwhelming) and to contact people is so great that I thought a few words about it might be worthwhile.<br />
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By all means, please correct me in the comments below and consider following me on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/erictweber">http://twitter.com/erictweber</a>.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-28101296439843375952011-10-22T10:05:00.000-07:002011-10-22T10:05:20.005-07:00My piece in the Commercial Appeal (Memphis): "Forward Rebels, or a Big Step Back?" from 10/22/11Visit my Web site here: <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">http://www.ericthomasweber.org</a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/images/FR-ThumbnailofOp-Ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/images/FR-ThumbnailofOp-Ed.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Today, my piece came out in the Commercial Appeal, the major Memphis newspaper. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/oct/22/guest-column-forward-rebels-or-a-big-step-back/">You can read the piece on their Web site here for now</a>.</span> Pending permission from the paper to repost the article word for word here, I'll do so. For now, above is the thumbnail for the article.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
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</div>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-12706887616925700342011-07-24T11:45:00.000-07:002011-07-24T11:45:41.091-07:00"Rand's Appeal Curious: Politics of Individualism," my op-ed published today in The Clarion Ledger, pages C1&2, July 24, 2011Visit my Web site here: <a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/">http://ericthomasweber.org</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ericthomasweber.org/images/Rand.jpg" width="280" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a scan of the article:</div><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/ETW-RandsCuriousAppeal.pdf">http://ericthomasweber.org/ETW-RandsCuriousAppeal.pdf</a><br />
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In case some people would like to read it in Html format (you can read it here without a fast connection for downloading the scan), I post the article here. This is because Gannett newspapers often take articles down after about a week on their Web sites. Here's <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/"><i>The Clarion Ledger</i>'s Web site</a>. Here's the article:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 7.8pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Rand's appeal curious<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <!--[endif]--></span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ideas of writer Ayn Rand strangely attract politicians of all stripes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Since President Barack Obama's election, the works of Ayn Rand have surged in popularity. Among the fans of Rand's work is U.S. Sen. Rand Paul from Kentucky. Contrary to popular misconception, Paul was not named after the famous author. He has been vocal, however, in calling attention to her ideas.</span></span><br />
<div> <div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rand is a strange heroine in American politics. She has fans and critics in both parties. Beyond her ardent defense of free markets, she favored free love and sex. She was for birth control and presented idolized lead characters in her books who committed adultery time and again. She was a strong supporter of abortion rights. The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights calls abortion "an absolute right."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">She is also a role model for some working women, presenting examples like Dagny Taggart, the brilliant vice president in charge of operations at Taggart Transcontinental and protagonist of Atlas Shrugged.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">A compassionate person should have trouble with Rand's elitism, however. People who advocate for families, for religion, for children, or for persons with disabilities should feel a great tension with her ideas. Rand despised psychological weakness, counting religion as one, as well as dependency. Children have no clear place in books like Atlas Shrugged.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can a medical doctor like Sen. Paul be such a fan? As a doctor, he nobly provided treatment to underserved areas, offering "eye exams and surgery to needy families and individuals," according to his website.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul's idol would be unimpressed with such selfless behavior. She believed charity is sometimes acceptable, but is not a good thing. In her view, it usually perpetuates reliance on others. The ideals of Christian charity and goodwill toward fellow citizens, which John Winthrop and later on, President Ronald Reagan espoused, run counter to the approach she thinks is best for society. So her match as a heroine for many GOP leaders is at least surprising.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where does Rand fit in American politics?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most would probably call her a libertarian. She certainly was an advocate for free markets. It is odd, however, for Christians and conservatives to idolize her. Simply put, Ayn Rand was strongly opposed to conservatism, explicitly rejecting the label "conservative." Some of her followers, who call themselves Objectivists, argue for legalizing prostitution and drug sales, even if they find the practices unwise. So, while Rand is for free markets, conservatives usually do not want them to be quite as free as she would have them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sen. Paul and other fans, like Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin or commentators Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, surely do not look to atheist Rand for religious guidance. But, many accept her economic ideology. More mainstream economic liberalism holds that industry is the path to peace and improved standards of living for all. This means ultimately, though, that the value of markets has to do with when and how they benefit everyone's lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hardline believers in industry see limitations on free enterprise as obstacles to individuality and to the benefits of competition and association. It is reasonable to ask, however, why it is a Christian or a conservative should necessarily have unwavering faith in markets and self-interest, particularly when excess focus on oneself is such a central vice according to Scripture, and desire for dollars is commonly taken to be worship of worldliness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rand's most famous follower today is Alan Greenspan. Greenspan believed thoroughly in the power of markets and in the virtue of deregulating them. People right and left have credited the economic growth during Greenspan's chairmanship of the Federal Reserve to his efforts. He was shocked, however, to see the recent economic downturn.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">In light of the last few years' economic hardships, it is remarkable that people today can continue to follow Rand as thoroughly as her fans like Sen. Paul do. After all, when markets undermined themselves, Greenspan admitted that his ideology was clearly flawed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself included," Greenspan said in 2008, "are in a state of shocked disbelief."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">When asked about his ideology and whether he still believes it to be right, Greenspan conceded: "I've found a flaw. I don't know how significant or how permanent it is. But I've been very distressed by that fact."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some ideologues will want to lay the blame on government whenever they can, calling attention to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those respondents are surely right to add all players into the mix of responsibility for the recent recession. At the same time, economic wizard Greenspan did not forget about those institutions when he made his admission. He realized that markets can foolishly sabotage themselves, devastating not only them and their shareholders, but also the nation's and the world's economies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Excessive belief in any ideology is the problem. The answer is not communism. It is not anarchy. The right thing to do is almost always a matter of reconciling competing values. The trouble with the recent surge in Rand's popularity is that it has directly correlated with a widening schism of ideologies that close their eyes even to lessons from their champions, like Greenspan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though Rand's ideas are quite radical, she could be a heroine to many groups. Liberal Democrats may like some of her social ideas. Small government Republicans may love her views about industry and the individual. But conservatives who like Ayn Rand are an odd match. Rand would be an ardent critic of many of their initiatives, including the proposed "personhood amendment" initiative, which may end up on Mississippi's 2011 ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">If conservatives or economic liberals of any stripe want a more mainstream hero, why not look to Adam Smith? Smith was not dismissive of charity. He believed the central value of industry was its contribution to the general welfare of humankind.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is well known that Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, but he also wrote a book called The Theory of Moral Sentiments, largely unknown to advocates of free enterprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smith was a moral philosopher who would welcome the following questions: What are markets good for? Why seek economic growth? If the answers are to raise the standard of living for all, to improve the welfare of the worst off in society, then he would think the goal is noble. Markets are good when they help people. When they do not, regulation becomes necessary and either charity, government action, or both must fill the need to help fellow human beings flourish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The belief that people are better off when industry is entirely free clashes with conservative values and constraints on many markets. It also ignores the abuses some businesses commit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, representatives of government can make mistakes or do wrong. When troubles spread, however, the common denominator is neither business nor government. It is people acting carelessly and unchecked.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: .15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes, value industry highly and watch over government, Smith would argue, but never forget to be thy brother's keeper.</span><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<b>Eric Thomas Weber, Ph.D., is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi. His second book, Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy, comes out this July and his third book, Democracy and Leadership, will be released in 2012. He is expressing his own viewpoint in this article. To contact, visit </b><a href="http://ericthomasweber.org/" style="font-weight: bold;">EricThomasWeber.org</a><b>.</b></span><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-44556109393688853672011-06-10T14:35:00.000-07:002011-06-10T14:35:27.903-07:00News about a Book in Development, Plus Upcoming Piece on Ayn Rand(As always, you can learn more about my writing at <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">www.EricThomasWeber.org</a>.)<br />
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In May, my wife and I had the most relaxing vacation that I can remember. One day, I decided to do a little writing just for fun while Annie was napping. It felt great. I put together a few pages on a topic that I think is important and that would be relatively easy and fun to write more about. I have since been thinking of it as a book project. I've pitched the idea to a literary agent contact in NYC, who has responded well to it. The book would (tentatively) be called <i><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#mm">The Meaning of Moderation: On the Virtue of Centrism in Politics</a></i>.<br />
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The main idea is to talk about the amazing divide that has widened between the political voices in the public sphere. Aristotle, as well as a number of other important philosophers, have argued quite persuasively that virtue is a matter of the mean between extremes of behavior. I don't want to say too much about this project at such an early stage, but it is pretty exciting and has gotten me energized about a new writing project. <br />
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Working on the issue of moderation, however, has made me more attuned than usual to the voices that push hard lines. Lately, we've seen Senator Rand Paul (KY) and others talking about Ayn Rand, even quoting her in official meetings. Thinking about her and others like Senator Bernie Sanders's (VT) socialist stance got me thinking about how odd a match Ayn Rand is for G.O.P., but for others as well. She has fans across the political spectrum, given her stances on small government as well as her liberal social views. <br />
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Questions about how to think about Rand and the odd kind of political inspiration she must be for some folks inspired me to write a piece about her fit in American politics. I thought it might be a stab at thinking about political moderation on the topic of business and government regulation, therefore connected to the <i>Meaning of Moderation project</i>. The piece is a newspaper op-ed that will come out in <i><a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/">The Clarion Ledger</a></i> around early July. When that comes out, I'll post it here on my blog, as I've done with earlier pieces. <br />
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<u>Finally, some general news about my writing</u>: My second book, <i><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#mlpp">Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</a>,</i> is now out in the U.K. and will be released in the U.S. in July. Plus, my third book, <i><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#dl">Democracy and Leadership</a>,</i> will be done this summer, to come out in 2012 with <a href="http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/">Lexington Books</a>. I'm still working on revisions to my proposal for my fourth book, <i><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#cb">Culture Bound: Overcoming Self-Fulfilling Prophecies of Failure in Education</a></i>. Plus, I've started hearing good news about the sales of my first book, a pretty technical one called <i><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/writings.htm#rdc">Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism</a></i>. This is welcome news, mainly because once it has sold a certain number of copies (getting close, I think), the publisher may decide to release it as a paperback, which would be much cheaper and would be much more accessibly priced, therefore, for a lot of people (poor scholars and grad students!). Finally, two reviews have come out about <i>RDC</i>. One by <a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/sjr21/blogs/shane_j_ralston/about/">Shane Ralston</a> is on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rawls-Dewey-Constructivism-Epistemology-Philosophy/product-reviews/1441161147/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1">Amazon.com here</a> and the other by <a href="http://nuim.academia.edu/RichardCotter">Richard Cotter</a> will come out in <i><a href="http://www.politicalstudiesreview.org/">Political Studies Review</a></i>, but is available now <a href="http://nuim.academia.edu/RichardCotter/Papers/472598/Book_Review_Eric_Thomas_Webers_Rawls_Dewey_and_Constructivism">here on Academia.edu</a>. <br />
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Thanks for reading!Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-90193028295051838222011-01-30T15:09:00.000-08:002011-01-30T15:09:22.663-08:00"Liberty, Health Care Reform Fit," my piece in the Clarion Ledger, 1/30/11.Visit my Web site here: <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">http://www.ericthomasweber.org</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-LibertyHealthCareReformFit.pdf"><img border="0" src="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/images/ETW-liberty.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To read a scanned PDF version of this article, <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-LibertyHealthCareReformFit.pdf">click here</a>. The following is the text from the article:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Liberty, Health Care Reform Fit</span><br />
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(<i>The Clarion Ledger</i>, Sunday, January 30, 2011, p. 13B)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">OXFORD -"It's about liberty," said Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, explaining his opposition to the health care mandate. He continued, "Even the president and Congress must act within the boundaries set by the Constitution." Of course, on both counts Cuccinelli is right.<br />
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Federal judges have ruled in conflicting ways recently on the health insurance mandate, which will require all Americans either to buy health insurance or to pay a tax penalty. Federal Judge Henry Hudson of Virginia argued that the government did not make its case successfully in demonstrating the limits of the commerce clause in the Constitution. The worry is that without a clear limit on congressional power, the people could suffer endless encroachment on individual liberty. So, if the government will be successful in defending its federal mandate, it needs to clarify a limiting principle for interfering in people's lives.<br />
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There is a rich and complex tradition of thought about liberty that defies oversimplification. What is fascinating about the debate on health care is that the federal mandate is justified by the idea that not having healthcare is said to affect others. How can one person's inactivity harm others? We have answers to this question in a number of areas. If Tom is drowning and Jack chooses not to throw him an available life preserver, Jack can be charged with negligence. Jack's inactivity is seen as a choice for which we hold him responsible.<br />
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More directly, the argument is that individuals who do not have health insurance show up at emergency rooms all the time. Hospitals with emergency rooms cannot turn them away. Imagine a doctor who confronts a choking child. If he were to start looking for the child's wallet and insurance card, we would be astonished. The same problem for hospitals translates to hugely expensive emergency room costs. People with insurance, therefore, are charged more money so that hospitals can stay in business. That means that people who have insurance pay indirectly for all the people who do not have insurance. So, the inactivity of choosing not to purchase health insurance can clearly raise costs for others.<br />
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One could argue, of course, that some people may not choose to go to emergency rooms when they are sick and have opted out of health insurance. Two issues arise here. The first is that many instances of taking people to emergency rooms do not allow for choice. If Alice is hurt in a car accident and is unconscious, we treat her. We do not wait until she wakes up to then ask whether she wants emergency service. Second, the mandate for health insurance does not actually require you to purchase health insurance. This is perhaps the most startling point. You can opt out if you are willing to pay a tax penalty.</span><br />
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Tax penalties are a form of coercion, of course, but people choose them all the time, such as in seeking extensions for paying income taxes later than is required. Think about other forms of government coercion, furthermore, like the military draft we had just a generation ago. An option to accept a tax penalty instead of serving would have represented a significant expansion of freedom for those who opposed war.<br />
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The problem remains that unless we know the limits to the government's justifiable encroachments on individual liberty, we should all be worried. In that sense, it is important to agree with Cuccinelli that the point here concerns liberty. Liberty can be our guide in deciding about the proper limits of government interference. Among the most important writers on the subject of liberty was John Stuart Mill. He argued that the only time government is justified in limiting an individual's liberty is when that person limits the liberty of others or harms others without their consent. So, boxing is OK as long as the boxers agree to the match. But, it is not all right when Lisa punches Sam without Sam's consent to fight.<br />
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A number of libertarian thinkers have refined Mill's formulation. Joel Feinberg, for instance, explained that the idea of harming others is not so simple. It does not always involve direct injuries. We hide pornography behind magazine counters because Brad's freedom to purchase his magazines indirectly affects Maxine's desire to raise her children free from exposure to such adult matters. Also, think about why tax evasion is a crime. Al Capone's tax crimes did not directly hurt others, but affected citizens indirectly. The people had to take on more responsibility for public needs than if Capone had paid his fair share. This is an indirect form of harm, but one that is important and troubling. We make it illegal for a good reason.<br />
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In the case of the Affordable Care Act, the mandate is intended to address indirect harms. The claim is that to lack insurance coverage leaves the rest of us on the hook for taking care of you when you get into an accident or show up at an emergency room, something that happens regularly. So, the justification one could give from the libertarian point of view is that it is permissible to limit an individual's liberty regarding health insurance when that person's exercise of liberty harms others. In the end, then, the issue is indeed one of liberty, but that does not mean we should abandon the health care mandate. It means instead that the debate is really about whether or not individuals who choose to opt out of health insurance negatively affect others.<br />
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So, when cases about the federal mandate reach the U.S. Supreme Court, one way to explain the limit to the government's justifiable encroachments upon liberty could be this libertarianism principle, known as the harm principle. We can say that Congress ought to limit its interference in people's lives when there is no great social cost to individuals in the form of non-consensual direct or indirect harms. Where people are not harming others without their consent, let them be.<br />
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I have only argued here on the basis of what libertarians call negative freedom, freedom that has to do with avoiding imposition or encroachments on people's liberty. There is a complex set of values built on the idea of positive liberty, which we see represented in American public schools and universities, for example. The motivation behind support for positive liberty is the idea that individuals ought to have a chance to pursue happiness and meaning in life. That form of argument could be offered about health care, but I have focused instead here on the less controversial approach to make a point.<br />
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In countless cases, individuals who lack health insurance are taken to emergency rooms or go to them on their own. The indirect harm done is clear. Thus, it seems that the health care mandate can be supported even with the less controversial libertarian harm principle based on negative freedom.<br />
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Cuccinelli is right about one thing: the issue of the federal mandate is indeed about liberty.<br />
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<b>Eric Thomas Weber, Ph.D., is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi. Here he is expressing only his own point of view. His second book, </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</i><b>, will be published in June and his third book, </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Democracy and Leadership</i><b>, will be released in 2012.</b><br />
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You can visit the <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/">Clarion Ledger Web site here</a>.</span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-88685727153852936822010-10-23T23:08:00.000-07:002010-10-23T23:15:07.978-07:00"Health Law Repeal Would Toss Out Baby with Bathwater," my piece in The Clarion Ledger, 10/24/10<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFybLByRHlh9aVH-yHKHKD2SkVvIPVFHenPXgPmKDEscVk1OQheEEWncJNAAtKJ7cxspOFJupA5vgv4o_FhikeamjZHHdjzidzn3s7BQR8LyN4NOv7wUy1yGNUb9JmKxdyI0a6zGKx-zW/s1600/ETW-Healthcare300.jpg" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-Healthcare.pdf">Click here to open the scanned version.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">http://www.ericthomasweber.org</a> </span></span><br />
Here is my article that came out today in <i><a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/">The Clarion Ledger</a></i>. The article is called "Health Law Repeal Would Toss Out Baby with Bathwater." You can open a scanned <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-Healthcare.pdf">Adobe PDF version of the article by clicking here</a> or by clicking on the link below the photo. <br />
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</div><div>The regular text version of the article is here below. I hope that this piece will have contributed helpfully to the debate regarding the Affordable Care act. I've already received some very encouraging emails about the piece. Thank you all for your encouragement. Here's the piece:</div><div><br />
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</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Health Law Repeal Would Toss Out Baby with Bathwater</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">In the “Pledge to America,” some Republicans call for repeal of the Affordable Care Act. If you want to amend the act, that is one thing, but outright repeal will hurt my family and many others. People need to know what is good in the act so that we don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. If Republicans want my vote, they need to differentiate what is right on target in the bill and what is worth reconsidering. There are at least six ways the healthcare act has already benefited my daughter tremendously. I’ll give just two examples.<o:p></o:p><br />
* In 2007, my daughter Helen was born and suffered a stroke. This happens to one in six thousand children. Just one of our many, many bills was for $100,000, which charged only for her stay in the hospital for her first month of life. That did not include doctors’ visits, medicines, tests, the helicopter flight to the specialist hospital, etc. The $1,000,000 lifetime cap on benefits that my insurance plan imposed per beneficiary might sound great to the inexperienced reader, but it can run out very quickly. Were we to run out, my wife and I would certainly sell everything we have, go into bankruptcy, and get on Medicaid. I would do what I have to do to save my little girl.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> The healthcare bill made this unnecessary. I can sleep better at night. My daughter will have coverage as long as I pay my premiums and as long as she needs care. My insurance company can no longer cap benefits in the way that it did, in a blanket fashion for each person. A simple call for repealing healthcare does not tell me whether those advocates will defend my daughter or return us to the frightening system we had before. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> Repeal of the healthcare act is no solution. The answer: talk of amending the act, not of repealing it. Let’s keep the baby and lose the bathwater. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">* A second crucial element of the act concerns pre-existing conditions. How many Americans want insurance companies to be able to deny children coverage because of pre-existing conditions? My daughter didn’t give herself an ailment. She suffered a brain infarction at birth. That is precisely why she needs coverage, yet this was reason people in the past would try to deny support. That is simply outrageous, a moral bankruptcy. So long as the Democrats alone defend this measure, they will have many people’s votes. Repeal is not the answer. Keep this measure. Amend the act where needed – don’t repeal it.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> I love the references to the nation's Founders we’ve been hearing lately. We should look more closely, though. My favorite Republican of all time was Ben Franklin. He was a man of compromise. He did not think the Constitution was perfect, quite the opposite. His speech about it was titled “I agree to this Constitution with all its faults”! The Founders knew that they could only move forward with compromise and with plans for how they would in time amend what was wrong while preserving what was right in what they had done. If you want change and if you want votes, tell us exactly what you will change and what you will keep. Outright repeal of the healthcare bill will hurt my family and the families of Democrats, Republicans, and independents all over the country.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dr. Eric Thomas Weber is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi, expressing only his own point of view in this article. His second book, <i>Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy</i>, will be released in 2011 and his third book, <i>Democracy and Leadership</i>, is in progress. Visit <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">EricThomasWeber.org</a>. </span></b></div>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-27054708714004617232010-09-19T12:15:00.000-07:002010-09-19T12:15:41.825-07:00"Choosing Civility: The Lemonade Lesson," Clarion Ledger Article from 9/19/10<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1663998063"><img border="0" src="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/images/civility-cl.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Link to <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-Civility-CL.pdf">scan of the first page of "Choosing Civility"</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Today, September 19th, 2010, <i>The Clarion Ledger</i> published a piece I contributed for them called "Choosing Civility: The Lemonade Lesson." Once again, I benefited from the editors' excellent headline abilities, since my titles are never as punchy. Mine are always more descriptive. Anyway, I'm learning! <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-Civility-CL.pdf">First, here is a link to a PDF scan of the article</a>. Along with that you'll find the text from an additional piece that the editors put together as a follow-up article. This really made the opinion and perspectives sections today nicely unified in addressing a common point. Kudos to the <i>Clarion Ledger</i> folks. <br />
<br />
I should also mention that I was honored to have Marshall Ramsey (<a href="http://blogs.clarionledger.com/mramsey/">his Clarion Ledger blog</a> and <a href="http://marshallramsey.blogspot.com/">his own blog</a>) create some excellent art to go with my piece. Here's the graphic:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nzzGnGUd7rkP9hNz1n1dwnXb38D_RmG989oM0k6NvuxFrXVrVaDw_Wq8JuotFSqG2pfM7upmromPyGAnfvMZJ4QvbIFuSp6axAQLE-PRt_LioahAWsFphHDZF5MqIxIKKd9lJicSP1yq/s1600/mr-lemonade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nzzGnGUd7rkP9hNz1n1dwnXb38D_RmG989oM0k6NvuxFrXVrVaDw_Wq8JuotFSqG2pfM7upmromPyGAnfvMZJ4QvbIFuSp6axAQLE-PRt_LioahAWsFphHDZF5MqIxIKKd9lJicSP1yq/s400/mr-lemonade.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Here is the text of my article:<br />
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<br />
<h1 style="color: #2e3237; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 15px;">Choosing civility</h1><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">On a hot summer day, young girls gave out lemonade in their neighborhood. The fact that they were not charging for their kindness launched columnist Terry Savage of the Chicago Sun-Times into a rage. According to Savage, these girls were the problem with America and a symptom of it.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Savage yelled "No!" at the girls and berated them. They were giving away their parents' property, Savage thought, assuming that the girls had no allowance of their own to use as they pleased. She failed to imagine that their parents intended to instill a spirit of giving in their children. To her the only point of a lemonade stand is to learn about business, never about the value of charity or kindness. Just think of how mad Savage must be about Jesus' miracle of feeding the multitudes, which, according to her logic, contributed to inflation and involved giving away his father's property.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>The lemonade story is a clear example of the problem of incivility in America. In his recent book, Democracy and Moral Conflict, philosopher Robert Talisse has argued that incivility is one of the greatest threats to democracy in our country. National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leach, a 30-year Republican congressman from Iowa, has been touring the country to talk about the great need for civility today. Talisse and Leach have noticed the rise of incivility in the country and are as concerned as I am about it.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>Incivility has been severe many times in the last few years. In 2007, MoveOn.org took out a large advertisement attacking U.S. Gen. David Patraeus. Sounding like mean-spirited school children, they asked: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>More recently, town hall meetings around the country devolved quickly into screaming matches in which detractors wanted to avoid sincere debate about the need for health care reform. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's 2009 speech before Congress was equally troubling, though he has since apologized. Often the same people criticize President Obama for spending too much and then admonish all efforts to find cost saving strategies for reforming health care. Our problems are too big to be solved with partisan attacks and the avoidance of debate.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Conservative David Frum was right on target when he argued that unwillingness to engage in civil debate on health care reform meant that Republicans missed a real opportunity to shape the legislation that passed. Shortly after Frum made these remarks he was dismissed from the American Enterprise Institute, though his following has since grown.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">At a time when oil and tar balls have devastated the coastal environment and economy in Mississippi and nearby states, we need civility profoundly. With high unemployment and low funds for Medicaid, we need political cooperation. Americans must tone down the virulence that plagues our debates. The disasters we face offer an opportunity to return to civility, to bring people together to address common problems.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>It is fair to ask what civility is, after all. It sometimes sounds like what old people prefer or what the privileged classes call for when oppressed people rise up. No, civility is not necessarily a pacifist ethic. It is a set of at least three moral tenets.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>The first rule of civility calls for open and intelligent public debate by means of respectful communication. This rule is broken when people falsify information or inflame the public against understanding groups who disagree. For instance, when Michael Moore shows only the devastation of job losses in Michigan in his film, Roger and Me, he omits any consideration of what happens when American companies fail to remain competitive. The disturbances of the town hall meetings on healthcare are another example of violating this rule.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>The second tenet of civility demands respect for fellow citizens - that we see them as stakeholders and sources of insight about what keeps democracy afloat. One way to break this second rule is to demonize opposition. For example, the North Iowa Tea Party put up a billboard that, according to AP, "showed photographs of President Obama, Nazi leader Hitler and communist leader Lenin beneath the labels 'Democrat Socialism,' 'National Socialism,' and 'Marxist Socialism.' " Fortunately, the Tea Party members in Iowa came to see that the sign reflected poorly on them and they removed it.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It is difficult to imagine civil discourse between people who demonize each other. Consider CNN's reports in 2009 that "threats on the life of the president of the United States have now risen by as much as 400 percent since [Obama's] inauguration . . . [which] 'in this environment' go far beyond anything the Secret Service has seen with any other president." This year, past anger about the president's Christian pastor has been replaced with the contradicting pretension that he is a Muslim. Not only are these developments and the conflict over the building of mosques in New York and Tennessee disturbing for their efforts to demonize opposition, but they also treat Muslims as though they don't deserve the same freedom of religion as the rest of us. As citizens and voters, we must demand that our leaders address our real problems as a nation instead of stoking prejudices. Fortunately, we have a chance to make such a statement this November.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The third rule of civility calls for respect for public institutions. In the heat of the moment, it can be difficult to accept the slow bureaucratic processes of the courts, but public institutions do something very important when they slow us down. They force us to wait, to allow anger to cool, and to let reason take over. Time and calmness are needed for intelligent thought and discussion. Without them, we get vigilantism, as in the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>Of course, respect for public institutions does not mean that we must avoid criticizing them. In fact, in America, criticism is a chief virtue. It is the most powerful tool for reforming unjust, ineffective, and wasteful practices. In that sense, then, respect for institutions requires scrutiny and criticism. These things are only meaningful, however, if it is possible for institutions to do better than they do. So, even civil criticism of public institutions implies optimism about the promise of better democratic governance.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>Civility is not an empty term. It represents a class of virtues that we must foster in schools and in public debates. If constitutional democracy is worthwhile, it is because of its potential for intelligent social action. It can help the greatest number of people to be happy while respecting the rights of those who would fight even against civility itself.<span class="aa"></span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pp"></span>We must not follow Savage's example. A civil answer to an offer of lemonade is "thank you." America today needs voices to be civil. The battle for civility is endless, to be sure, but without it we debase democracy and choose moral blindness over vision.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Dr. Eric Thomas Weber is assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership at the University of Mississippi, expressing only his own point of view in this article. His second book, Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy, will be released in 2011. Contact him at <a href="mailto:etweber@olemiss.edu">etweber@olemiss.edu</a>.</strong></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>-----------------------------</strong></div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">You can visit my Web site here: <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/">http://www.ericthomasweber.org</a>. </div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">-----------------------------</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Here is the follow-up article by the editors at <i>The Clarion Ledger</i>:</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">----------------------------</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"></span></div><h1 style="color: #2e3237; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 15px;">Civility: Agreeable disagreements</h1><div>(by the editors of <i>The Clarion Ledger)</i></div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">As much more eloquently expressed in today's Perspective essay by University of Mississippi assistant professor of Public Policy Leadership Eric Thomas Weber, can't we just all get along?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">No, that's not the real question nor is it even a plausible question. Of course we can't just all get along.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">We are Americans. We disagree. It's in our national DNA. We have a constitutional right to disagree in a nation founded on the principles of guaranteed freedoms and the pursuit - at least - of happiness.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But must we disagree so disagreeably? Must we demonize those with whom we disagree? And most of all, must we engage in an ever-escalating war of character assassination and what has come to be called the politics of personal destruction in the process.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The concept of the loyal opposition in this nation is not-so-slowly disappearing and being replaced by those who value "calling out" and "taking down" those with whom they disagree far more than a civil debate of the issues in which the ultimate goal is the common good.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">America over the last two decades has become increasingly polarized - left and right, liberal and conservative, progressive and patriot, black and white, rich and poor, hawk and dove.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It is as if America's political landscape is becoming - like professional wrestling - a carefully scripted pantomime of hero versus heel. One wonders what Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas would make of modern American political debate were they to tune in to the more animated discussions of the more extreme commentators on both MSNBC or Fox News on any given night.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">What is lost in the growing incivility of public discourse at every level is the sense of American community.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">In their debates, Lincoln expressed an admiration for the oratorical skills of his opponent Douglas: "With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed."</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Competition is good, particularly in the marketplace of ideas. Spirited, passionate debate from all corners of the political spectrum is healthy and fosters the germination and growth of ideas that lead to progress.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But the level of incivility that reigns in this country today breeds political gridlock and division that threatens to paralyze government at a critical juncture in the nation's history. How much progress our nation could make if we pulled together half as hard as we pull against each other on a daily basis.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">- Editors at <i>The Clarion Ledger</i>. Visit <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/">The Clarion Ledger here</a>.</div><div style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></span></span></div>Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3466760423940222414.post-11815488311512102772010-08-07T13:24:00.000-07:002010-08-07T13:24:56.859-07:00Update on disability story and on next submission to the Clarion Ledger<b>Update on piece on disability</b><br />
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Those of you who had a chance to read <a href="http://www.ericthomasweber.org/ETW-DisabilitysFinancialCrisis.pdf">my Oxford Eagle article</a> on disability and the effects of Medicaid cuts to people here in Northern Mississippi might be interested in a short update.<br />
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The excellent news is that a week after the piece came out, John Robert Phillips, the little boy who needs cochlear implants, has been approved for coverage through Medicaid. Of course these things may have been worked out entirely independently of the article, but who knows. If talking about the issue helped move things along even slightly, I'd be very happy about it. Even if it did not, that is fine too, since it is important to keep people aware of important matters like the one that the Phillips had to confront. Congratulations, Rachel and John Robert! <br />
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My remaining worry is for all the people who either cannot or do not know how to be as strong advocates as some can be for their children. Medicaid cuts, therefore, will affect more profoundly the poor and less educated persons with disabilities. If you know of anyone in Mississippi or in nearby states who could use some help, send them my contact information (email: <a href="mailto:etweber@olemiss.edu">etweber@olemiss.edu</a>, phone: 662.915.1336). As a faculty member at the University of Mississippi, I have the opportunity and some avenues for writing about matters like these, to call some attention to problems that need to be addressed.<br />
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<b>Info on next submission to the </b><b><a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/"><i>Clarion Ledger</i></a></b><br />
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I am happy to report that I have today sent in a piece I wrote for the <i>Clarion Ledger </i>on the<i> </i>subject of incivility in America. If it is a match for my editor's goals for the piece, then I'll be posting a scan and the text here soon. If not, I'll post an update on where I'm headed with the project. On the back burner, I'm slow cooking a book project on the subject of civility. The challenge at the moment is to figure out how to get the people who need to read it to want to read it. Until I can figure out the solution to that problem, the project will do more for the choir than for the congregation. OK, that's a lot of metaphors in a row... Come visit again soon for an update on this developing piece.Eric Thomas Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12943501770124028494noreply@blogger.com0