Difference between revisions of "Civicwiki:Mission"

Revision as of 19:07, 30 June 2014

The government of the United States of America has been stable and continuous for almost 230 years. That alone makes America exceptional. No other modern government has existed that long or produced such dramatic success for its citizens, and for that matter, for the world.

The longevity of our government removes today’s youth 8 or 9 generations from its origins. Not surprisingly, few of us today understand or have a sense of our political heritage or the source or our success. Like a fish unaware of salt water, our long-running success is an uninteresting condition of life. But just as the quality of the water may be more delicate than the fish understands, American success cannot be taken for granted. The ideas and human spirit on which that success was built must be understood and refreshed, for that is what built it and must, therefore, keep it.

The Mission

The original motivation for Civicwiki was the current state of political discourse. CW was (and still is) to be a reaction to the political process as it has become today - filled with unsupported assertion, fact presented out of context, one-sided half-truths, fabrication presented as fact, and rhetoric calculated to elicit an emotional reaction, all to serve political agendas at the expense of truth. (Please read about Civicwiki.) If we are to navigate through the fog of political marketing, we must have a reliable compass. To help with that and support discussion of the issues, CW's mission is also to refresh and explain the ideas behind American success. These are agendas that we hope are acceptable to all.
Perhaps a few of the ideas presented on this site are original, but only a few. In all cases, we have relied heavily on history and the writings of other, more insightful minds.

America’s longevity was the result of many factors, but chief among them was a group of very smart people who were genuinely interested in solving the problem of a stable and just federal government. They had no self-serving political agendas beyond good government. They believed in a basic set of unalienable rights afforded to every person. They understood the need for a social and political society whose individual rights and security were guaranteed by a fair and just government. They understood that society was a collection of individuals - people of diverse (and sometimes competing) interests - that would have to live peaceably together. They were remarkable in their understanding of the problems to be solved if that society were to be stable. And they were well educated in the history of previous efforts and in the philosophy of rights and politics. From these understandings, they developed a constitution that defined the functions of such a government and sought to foresee the ways in which people (none of us are angels) could pollute the water. The Constitution of the United States is a document of eternal truths expressed in unique government constructs. It is remarkable in its wisdom and foresight.

Civicwiki seeks to refresh that understanding and the ideas behind America's durable nation by telling the stories of both early and modern Americans, the events and philosophies that shaped our society, our civic structure, and how those things made us successful as a nation.

CW is a website with a framework to hold the narrative. At the beginning, the pages are mostly blank. We must depend on our readers to help us write the pages and maintain content quality. So, CW needs the help of writers and editors. Perhaps you would like to participate.

The Story

CW has divided the story into several parts 1) basic truths, 2) historical influences, 3) the ideas behind our federal government, 4) wealth and poverty in America, and 5) the issues. It isn't as dry as it first sounds.

1. Basic truths is about the rights of people – what they are and what they aren’t. It is about the implications of those rights – the rule of law, our country's center piece, being an example.
2. Historical influences summarizes the interesting and relevant elements of American history as it shaped our government from its founding to what it is today.
3. "The ideas" encompass how Americans arrived at declaring their independence, the debates leading to the adoption of our constitution, and what has happened to those ideas.
4. Wealth and poverty in America seeks to explain how wealth is created, how poverty is overcome (but never completely), how this has worked in America, and the influence of government policy.
5. "The issues" tackles those things that are of primary concern to Americans today. This part of the story can be thought of as the bottom line. The parts that precede it are good and interesting background. But we have to apply what those stories teach us to the issues if the information is to serve a useful purpose.

Main Topics

CW articles will be cataloged under a set of main topics

CW’s 1st main topic is Inalienable Rights. It is the “basic truths” story.

America was founded on a principle of rights – the fundamental few rights of people that became central to declaring independence as well as to our constitution. These rights apply to everyone and no one person’s enjoyment of them may be violated by any person or group even if such a group constitutes a majority. They are unalienable – therefore they outrank even the democratic process. To understand this is the beginning of understanding the rule of law on which the stability of our country depends.

CW’s 2nd main topic is America's Heritage. These are the stories of historical influence.

CW’s mission is not to act as historian, but it seems necessary to understanding America’s success to scan history for the interesting events and beliefs that shaped the attitudes and actions of Americans, starting with the first colonies and proceeding ultimately to the present.

CW’s 3rd main topic is American Independence. This belongs to the ideas behind America.

It is a piece of American history starting in 1763 and ending with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

CW’s 4th main topic is Federalism and Democracy. This also belongs to the ideas behind America.

It is about the constitution and the ideas that surfaced in the debate leading up to its ratification.

CW’s 5th main topic is Wealth and Poverty in America.

Wealth and poverty are very misunderstood. It needs to be discussed.

CW’s 6th main topic is “The Issues”.

This is where we get to the heart of the matter. Let’s have a fact based (and unemotional) discussion about the issues that matter to us and that seem to divide America. Let’s sweep away the political marketing, turn off the politicians and commentators and their agendas and talk to one another.