Musings of a Patriot

Tag: discourse

  • Public Journalism

    After an entire book showing the disappointing aspects of what effects we are seeing in our society from journalism it was bittsweet to read about the push toward a more constructive approach to journalism called public journalism. (The bitter being that this was written in the mid 1990’s and things seem no better – if…

  • Lippmann vs Dewey

    In his final chapter, James Fallows introduces the argument between Walter Lippmann and John Dewey that took place through their writings in the 1920’s regarding what constituted the most desirable form of representative government. I would like to read more of their original writing, but for now let me react to what Fallows has covered.…

  • Pursuit of Liberty Forum

    Maybe I should call this a "pre-announcement" but I wanted to let everyone know that I am setting up a forum where anyone who is interested in talking politics is welcome to help shape my political thinking. The forum exists but will be taking real shape as I have time to shape it to meet…

  • Speaking My Native Language

    I have always tried to maintain a very civilized and respectful tone here when discussing issues that are sometimes charged with emotion in the public arena. I have been reading the book Why We Whisper and I began to recognize that my efforts to be civil had resulted in my speaking a dialect that is…

  • Make “the Silent” a Minority

    Recently my niece approached me to ask questions about politics. She’s a young teenager, years short of being able to vote, but she wants to become informed and involved so that she could positively participate by the time she can vote. The conversation served as a reminder to me of how important it is for…

  • Put in the Effort

    Maybe I’m just reacting to the tone of the article suggesting that Twitter is taking the place of blogging among elected officials in Utah (and elsewhere) but this quote by Ric Cantrell says it all: ”Maybe this is a sign of the times, but blogging got to be too tedious,” said Ric Cantrell, chief deputy…

  • Cultural Vacuum

    I got thinking after Carl asked why I don’t talk about how the government should be focused on supporting the family. Carl is absolutely right that the no-such-thing-as-standard modern family is at the root of all of our social problems. What I have been realizing as I have thought about how we can support the…

  • Public Discussion

    Obi wan Liberali recently asked others if he was considered liberal. Apparently some of his liberal friends thought he was not liberal enough because he is not inflammatory. The discussion that followed in the comments got me thinking about different sites that I have visited and my perceptions. I try to follow sites across the…

  • The Wide Middle

    I just discovered The Wide Middle today and I think that the concept of “open source public policy” is an example of how more political discourse ought to take place – based on the assumption that we agree on more things than we disagree on and that we can find solutions where we identify problems.…

  • A New Birth of Freedom

    How do we rekindle the flame of liberty in the heart of all American citizens? I have been thinking about that question. It continues to disturb me that high turnout in an election approaches 50% participation. That is evidence of the disengagement that indicates a passive (or absent) desire for freedom unlike the active desires…