|
The Communitarian Update
Number 21
September 3, 1999
America's Civic Health Improving
The National Commission on Civic Renewal (NCCR) has announced significant increases in
INCH, the Index of National Civic Health. The INCH is a composite of measurements of
political participation, trust, strength of the family, group membership, and personal
security, monitored by the NCCR since 1974. In the previous period, 1984-1994, all five
categories had dropped. According to a June update to NCCR's "A Nation of Spectators"
report, between 1994 and 1997 gains occurred in all categories of the INCH, especially
trust and personal security.
In the News
"The Evangelical Family Paradox: Conservative Rhetoric, Progressive Practice," an
article by W. Bradford Wilcox and John P. Bartkowski which appeared in the summer
issue of our quarterly, The Responsive Community has garnered much national attention.
Stories about this article have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times,
and other newspapers. If you would like a FREE issue of The Responsive Community, send
a request to comnet@gwu.edu
Hippocrates Under HMOs
One physician's guess at how Hippocrates would sum up modern medicine: "We tend to the
healthy and avoid the sick. We are rewarded for providing the least care and penalized
for providing the most care. This in a medical system that has minimal concern for ethics,
hides information from the patients, and is run by financial people instead of doctors,
nurses, or anyone else who cares for the patients." (New England Journal of Medicine
11/27/97, letter to the editor by Dr. Alec Pruchnicki.)
It's Less Expensive Than Schooling
Free classical music CD's are now available to parents of newborns in Georgia and
Tennessee, as a courtesy of those states. This is in response to studies which claim
that the music can stimulate cognitive development.
New Publications
Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City (W.W. Norton and Co., 1999)
by Elijah Anderson. A look into the social organization of street life, including cases wherein
families and outlaws share the same neighborhoods.
"Back to the Pillory?" by Amitai Etzioni. The American Scholar Summer 1999. Etzioni examines
whether shaming might be useful in our criminal justice system. FREE REPRINTS are available,
request them at comnet@gwu.edu.
Practical Politics: Five Principles for a Community that Works (University of Illinois, 1999)
by Michael K. Briand. A guide for replacing competitive political wrangling with genuine
consensus and cooperation.
Ask the Children: What America's Children Really Think About Working Parents (1999) by
Ellen Galinsky. A new study that focuses on children's perspectives and opinions about
work and family.
What Are You?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People (Henry Holt and Co., 1999) by Pearl
Fuyo Gaskins (Editor). Essays, interviews, and poetry by 45 people, ages 14 through 26,
offering their perspectives on what it means to be "mixed race."
Upcoming Events
Amitai Etzioni will chair a session entitled "Privacy and the Common Good" this
Saturday, September 4 at 10:45a.m., at the Annual Meeting of the American Political
Science Association in Atlanta. Panelists include Priscilla Regan, Mark Tunick, and
Annabelle Lever.
Transatlantic Regulatory Harmonization and Global Standards, a conference by the
Transatlantic Project at The George Washington University, will be held October 12-14
in Washington, DC. For more information, contact Dr. Reba Carruth at racarr@gwu.edu
The National Civic League will hold its 105th National Conference on Governance October
14-16 in Arlington, VA. The theme is "New Politics for a New Century: Reinventing Citizen
Democracy from the Ground Up." Visit National Civic League for more information.
The Communitarian Update is compiled by Andrew S. Becker. Send RELEVANT news items to
comnet@gwu.edu. Please consider forwarding the Update to others who may be interested.
|
