| This week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal begins by featuring articles on the Supreme Court nomination hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. At CNN, Adam J. White argues that in her answers, Judge Jackson surprisingly sounded “like conservative former Justice Antonin Scalia at times,” emphasizing “the importance of constitutional text as a restraint on judicial discretion.” As she stated during the hearings, “We have a foundational document that has text, and it has principles; it establishes freedoms and foundational important concepts that are intended to govern us.” White points out that she discussed the importance of stare decisis and Supreme Court precedent while at the same noting that the facts and circumstances of the cases before her could ultimately alter the Court’s view going forward. By contract, Scott Douglas Gerber contends that Judge Jackson’s promotion of a judicial methodology of neutrality is problematic. The varying theories of constitutional interpretation – for example, textualism, moralism, structuralism, among others – interpreting statutes, and interpreting precedent needed to be examined in far more detail, Gerber maintains. “Jackson came across during her confirmation hearing as a bright and well-credentialed judge,” but he argues that Jackson missed a crucial opportunity to share her judicial philosophy with the American people. Rebeccah Heinrichs contends that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s battle against critical race theory in the state’s school curriculum alone will “not guarantee that students will have the opportunity to benefit from a true civic education.” She calls on the state’s legislature to “implement new civic education standards that promote immersive, meaningful explorations of America’s history, like the approach espoused by the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ohio, my alma mater.” She describes this “approach to teaching” as opening “a door right into American history and government,” where students can immerse themselves in timeless debates. By using primary sources such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and “other core documents of America,” she argues that students can “meet the great minds of the past and to wrestle with their ideas and with the ideas of their classmates.” In the News Adam J. White, CNN Scott Douglas Gerber, USA Today Brian Smith, Law & Liberty Clifford Humphrey, American Reformer Phillip Magness, AEIR Rebeccah Heinrichs, Roanoke Times Marcia Paterman Brookey, ASU News Kimberly Wehle, The Hill Adam Ellwanger, American Mind Mary Clark Jalonick & Mark Sherman, Associated Press Daniel James Sharp, Areo Richard Reinsch, Daily Signal Sahil Kapur, NBC Allen Guelzo, National Review Melissa Moschella, Public Discourse Ian Rowe & Paul Carrese, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership Ian Rowe of the Woodson Center/1776 Unites speaks on the important topic of being an informed citizen... Jack Miller & John Agresto, American Experiment On the occasion of his 93rd birthday, Jack Miller describes his future plans for the Jack Miller Center, a civic institution based... Robert Poole, Andrew Jenks, Leonard David, & David Randall, NAS In the mid-20th century, America and the USSR competed to launch first satellites, and then humans, into space. Despite an... Wilfred M. McClay, Pepperdine School of Public Policy Pepperdine School of Public Policy was honored to feature Dr. Wilfred McClay as our keynote speaker at the 2022 the Charles... Mary Patterson, Bill of Rights Institute How did Ella Baker contribute to the civil rights movement? In this episode of BRIdge from the Past, Mary examines Ella Baker’s... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories It's Friday, March 25, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation intended to be uplifting. ... It's Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the birthday of my middle child, Kelly Trygstad, a gifted educator and loving mother of ... It's Friday, March 18, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation meant to be inspiring. ... |
