Main Page

Welcome to Civicwiki Dedicated to Presenting Civic Fact about the Origins of Liberty in America, How it has Evolved, and the Issues we must now Resolve. Your thoughtful contributions are invited.

Inalienable Rights America's Heritage Independence

Liberty and Constitution EconomicFreedom Government and today's Issues

How to Contribute CW is a project that seeks to bring objective thought to civic issues. It is a reaction to the political process as it has evolved from our country's beginnings into what it has become today - a process 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. CW would prefer political advocacy that places objective information above political agenda. It's a tall order that will require the participation of many. We need an ever expanding group of contributors who agree with our mission. The pages of Civicwiki are currently only sparsely populated. We need a few people who are attracted to the mission of this site and want to help write its essays. Please browse the site and read about CW. This is a wiki (just like Wikipedia), so it's easy to contribute your knowledge and insights.

Register to contribute Add an Article Edit an article TBD 2

The constitution of America The United States began as a society determined that liberty is fundamental to life. That premise, carefully adopted by a newly formed nation, would provide freedom, prosperity, and security for many millions over the next 230+ years. Liberty as a preeminent value has never been common. It was not commonplace then and America's impact can only be understood by examining our heritage, political debates, and evolution of government. We created something new - a constitutional republic with democratic input and a novel approach to government as a protector of the rights of 'the people', put in place because we understood that the coexistence of liberty, prosperity, security, and internal peace is fragile. We bet the future of our country on the strength of those protections. And America became the most successful of countries if personal freedom and well being, are the measures. CW is an analysis of why that government appeared when and where it did, what made it strong, how it has produced its wealth, and how such a diverse society was able to live together peaceably. CW is also about how our government has evolved--occasionally for the good, but becoming increasingly intrusive in our lives, how that harms us all, and what we can do about it now. These discussions are spread across the following topic categories: Independence A discussion of the drivers behind America asserting independence when it had so recently been proud to be English subjects. Liberty and Constitution The unique nature of America's Consitution and how it reflected what colonial Americans wanted from government. Economic Freedom When we pursued freedom, it was very often economic freedom we were after. What Government do We Want How do we want government to behave today? Please also read about the CW mission. Featured article Inalienable Rights Belief in the existence of a set of rights vested in every person is fundamental to the concept of liberty. It is the central premise of the founding of the United States of America. Such rights have been referred to as 'natural', 'God-given', and 'inalienable'. America's Declaration of Independence contains brief, but compelling, words about "unalienable rights". It is a radical document - but then the founders of the United States were not conservatives - they were radicals in the cause of liberty.(Full article...)

What government do we want? How do we want our government to behave and how do we want to be governed? More and more the answer to that question is becoming increasingly important to our daily happiness and well being. Providing you with the information needed to answer that question is the main goal of CW. Every CW topic category contributes to that answer. However, the question is approached directly within: What Government do We Want.

The Issues At our beginning, America debated how to build a government that afforded "liberty and justice for all" and would stand the test of time. This was not simple. One of the founders' biggest issues was finding a way such that people and independent states of diverse interests could live side-by-side and thrive under a common federal government. Today's issues are no less important to the stability and longevity of our government and the harmony of our society. The details are different - but the issues are still about how a diverse people live under one government and reconcile their philosophical differences. Their importance is heightened because we now seem deeply divided. Politicians and factions play to our differences and divide us by misinforming us to get elected. It is a cynical play for political power at the expense of the health of our society. Therefore: CW is about the issues that most concern Americans today. (see: The Issues) and about providing informed citizens and a forum for objective information, better understanding, less divisiveness, and thus, the political momentum that is needed to govern effectively. (see: Just the facts)