Young Americans Lack Civic Engagement, Knowldege of Governmental System

[From article]
Of all I read about July 4 on that celebratory day, by far the most important and not otherwise mentioned anywhere else was an article titled "Celebrating History We Don't Remember" by Ashley Bateman of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Virginia, which startlingly appeared in the New York Post that very day.
Its essence -- which surprised even me, who has been reporting on this frightening failure of American public education for years:
"Last administered in 2010, the last national civics assessment showed that less than half of eighth-graders understood the purpose of the Bill of Rights and only 10 percent displayed age-appropriate knowledge of our government's system of checks and balances" -- that's the constitutional separation of powers which bars any one of our three branches of government from reigning over the other two, as President Obama has kept doing most voraciously.
[. . .]
An especially knowledgeable source of information on the actual effective teaching of civics in our public schools is CIRCLE: The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, located at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff070914.php3#.U-stG90--yM

Jewish World Review

July 9, 2014 / 11 Tammuz, 5774
Dangers to U.S. liberties we missed on July 4
By Nat Hentoff

Cambridge Councilor Explains His Vote

[From article]
I learned that the opportunity we enjoy carries the responsibility to protect it — you can’t have a government for the people, by the people, if the people don’t show up.
[. . .]
I’m admittedly more hesitant to share the second half of that story.
[. . .]
I’ll never forget how policies I knew would hurt immigrants like my father were couched in terms of fostering independence and self-reliance; how ideas that would strip people’s freedoms were reframed as protecting liberty; and most memorably, how to feign concern while delaying progress and obfuscating the truth by blaming the budget.
[. . .]
I enrolled at the Harvard Kennedy School to figure out my own political philosophy derived from first principles, not political messaging.
[. . .]
I’ve made sure to let my progressive values guide my policy decisions and maintained my disdain of the Republican playbook for being long on talk and short on action.
[. . .]
If we don’t at least try, then we’re no better than the Republicans in D.C. who say they care about equal opportunity but refuse to fund the educational programs that create equal opportunity.

Councilor Cheung is correct about citizen participation, but fails to recognize that some of his Council colleagues disagree. (Leland Cheung, GUEST COMMENTARY, Cambridge Chronicle, Jan 21, 2014) They discourage citizen participation, unless they agree with the policies of the politicians. Recently the Democratic Governor of New York declared that conservatives (not Republicans) should leave his state. Cheung acknowledges that politicians deceive voters and taxpayers, without giving examples. It is not clear why he needed to enroll in Harvard's Government school to learn about politics, especially his own. Do credentials bring self awareness? He states his values guide policy decisions,and that he got some of his values from his father who is a Republican. Cheung disagrees with Republicans about funding education. Did he ever consider the idea that if the U.S. Department of Education was abolished, more taxpayer money would be available for schools and education? He does not mention the role of teachers unions (and the other seven unions with which the School Department must negotiate) in making school policies. Does the pervasive negative attitude among Harvard University toward public school graduates influence his education values and policies?

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x110126828/CHEUNG-COLUMN-Immediate-plan-needed-for-universal-pre-K

By Leland Cheung/GUEST COMMENTARY
Cambridge  Chronicle
Posted Jan 21, 2014 @ 02:03 PM

Increasing Voter Turnout In Cambridge

Increasing Voter Turnout In Cambridge

Former Mayor of Cambridge laments low voter participation. (Denise Simmons, "COLUMN: The importance of civic engagement on local level," Cambridge Chronicle, Mar 19, 2013) She recommends lowering the legal voting age to 16. Why not  allow 5-year-olds to vote? Would toddlers be less informed than other Cambridge voters? Banning white heterosexual men would increase voting. This would make it easier to elect women, homosexuals and persons of color who are victims of white male voter suppression.

Eliminate residency requirements for voting. The City Council supports unions in California. Union members in California will help elect them. City Council opposes white racism in South Africa. Allow South Africans to vote in city elections too. 

City Council supports The People of El Salvador. Allow disenfranchised peasants of El Salvador, to vote in city elections too. Guatemalans have little effect on their leaders. If they vote in Cambridge elections they may be able to effect some change in their country.

City Council has 11 sister cities. All of their residents should be eligible to vote in  City elections. The people of former State Rep. Jarrett Barrios' sister's hometown, Cien Fuegos could vote to secede from Cuba and become neighborhood ten of Cambridge. 

An easier way to increase voter turnout is to allow anyone to vote who wants to vote. No requirements. Make voting mandatory. If people do not vote take their driver's licenses away. Not having a driver's license in Massachusetts does not  prevent anyone from driving. Why should living in Cambridge be a requirement for voting?  

Too many laws were written by dead white males, probably Republicans. Oh? Did I explain the importance of banning Republicans? Not a problem. There are few of them now, not being allowed to rent or purchase property in the city. Make voting for Democrats mandatory too. 

Cambridge City government is intensely interested in what voters think. Evidence includes when the City Council approved a major zoning change without any public hearings. The City Council hired a new City Manager with no public hearings. See!

One secret why few people vote in City Council elections is that Councilors are prohibited by state law from interacting directly with any City Manager appointed employee. The penalty for violation of that law is removal from office. So how much power do City Councilors have? Not very much.

Can voters vote for City Manager? The City Manager does not listen to the City Council. Why should the Council listen to the voters? It sounds like a great situation comedy.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x1959359535/COLUMN-The-importance-of-civic-engagement-on-local-level#axzz2O2BiKMFn

COLUMN: The importance of civic engagement on local level
By Denise Simmons/GUEST COMMENTARY
Wicked Local Cambridge
Posted Mar 19, 2013 @ 02:04 PM