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The Communitarian Update
Number 43
February 8, 2002
Tell us what you think!
A reporter was asked if he would reveal the presence of an American commando unit located behind
enemy lines. He answered that, yes, he would, adding "I don't represent the government. I represent
history, information, what's happened." Should the press be objective or patriotic? Or...?
Please respond as briefly as possible, tell us if we may include your response in our feedback,
and how to identify you. We shall not run anonymous responses because we believe true identities
make for better dialogues.
Does the Constitution Stop at the Border?
The Rights of Terrorists, Unlawful Combatants, and Other Foreigners
Friday, February 22, 2002, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Moot Court Room, George Washington University Law School, 2000 H Street, NW
With Professor Leon Fuerth (International Affairs) and Professor Sean Murphy (Law), moderated by
Amitai Etzioni.
High Praise
"American troops have not suffered the humiliation meted out to the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Bombing did not prove pointless or reckless. There has been no 'humanitarian disaster.' Other
Islamic countries, notably Pakistan, the Gulf states and Egypt, have not 'lashed out,'and nor have
they been 'arrogant' or 'triumphalist.' Instead they have been sober, well-organized, well-supported,
determined and remarkably successful." (The Economist, 12/22/01)
Bioethics Council
President Bush released the names of leading scientists, ethicists, lawyers, and theologians who have
been appointed to serve on the President's Council on Bioethics. The members include our soul mates
Stephen Carter (Yale Law School), Francis Fukuyama (Johns Hopkins University), Mary Ann Glendon
(Harvard University), and Michael J. Sandel (Harvard University).
Singer vs. Berkowitz
Peter Singer, the controversial moral philosopher, wrote, "How can we justify giving such huge sums
to the families of the firefighters and police when we do so little for people in other countries
whose needs are much more desperate?" (Slate, 12/12/01) Peter Berkowitz rebuked Singer, arguing that
Singer ignores considerations such as "the moral worth of the human attachment to one's own," and
that Singer contradicts himself, sometimes arguing from the principle of desert, sometimes from equal
treatment. (Weekly Standard, 12/31/01)
Amitai Etzioni Honored
Amitai Etzioni was awarded one of the Federal Republic of Germany's highest honors, the Officer's
Cross of the Order of the Merit. German Ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger presented
the award at a reception at the ambassador's home. Etzioni received the distinction for his fundamental
contributions to the fostering of intercultural dialogue and his work with conflict prevention.
Love Someone...
"If people want to fight terror, do something kind for a neighbor, join the USA Freedom Corps. Love
somebody. Mentor a child." -- President Bush speaking in Winston Salem, North Carolina, the day after
the State of the Union Address.
USA Freedom Corps
In the State of the Union, President Bush called for the creation of the USA Freedom Corps. Read his
proposal, find more information, and find out how to get involved at:
http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/
Firefighters Need You
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) represents an 800,000 member corp of first responders,
who voluntarily serve and protect communities throughout America everyday. The NVFC offers a way to
respond to the President's call-to-service, with an established organizational presence in thousands
of local American communities and the training and experience to facilitate the nation's homeland
security agenda. To become a volunteer firefighter or emergency worker in your community please call
1-800-FIRELINE or your local fire department. To make a tax deductible financial contribution to the
NVFC please call their offices at 202-887-5700 or visit www.nvfc.org
Immigration Dialogue - Tape Available
Given the new challenges to American safety, the United States faces a host of difficult questions
in shaping its immigration policy for the years ahead. Immigration experts Mark Krikorian, Kathleen
Newland, and Jose Pertierra address these and other questions in a dialogue on the future of United
States immigration policy. A videotape of the dialogue is available from the Communitarian Network
for $11.00. Tapes of our Public Health Dialogue are still available. Use our online order form:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/order.html
Government Cruise Ships
The U.S. would pay Northrop Grumman nearly $1 billion to finish suspended work on two cruise ships
under language inserted in the Pentagon bill Congress just passed. The ships would do unspecified duty
as "mobile deployable assets," and are being constructed in Lott's home state. (Wall Street Journal, 1/8/02)
New Issue of the Responsive Community
Featured in the new issue is the symposium "A New Era for National Service?" with articles by Senator
John McCain, Paul Glastris, Michael Lind, and Amitai Etzioni. Americans's response to the tragic
events of September 11 called attention to, and perhaps accelerated, a trend that some commentators
have championed for years: a growing spirit of civic duty and volunteerism. Yet there remains great
disagreement over how this spirit can best be put into practice, especially given the nation's current
domestic security concerns. See the full table of contents on our web site at:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq
Graduation Pledge Alliance
Humboldt State University (California) initiated the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental
Responsibility. It states, "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental
consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for
which I work." Students define what being "responsible" means to themselves. Students at over a hundred
colleges and universities are using the pledge. For more information see
http://ARES.manchester.edu/department/peaceStudies/gpa.html
Conference on Fatherhood
National Fatherhood Initiative's (NFI) 5th National Summit on Fatherhood, June 10-12, 2002, Hyatt
Regency San Antonio, TX. NFI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian national civic organization
founded in 1994 to confront the growing problem of father absence and to improve the well-being of
children by increasing the number of children growing up with involved fathers. For more information
see www.fatherhood.org
Men's Oppression?
"I find myself increasingly shocked at the unthinking and automatic rubbishing of men which is now so
part of our culture that it is hardly even noticed, men seem to be so cowed, that they can't fight back
and it is time they did." -- Doris Lessing (quoted in The Economist 12/22/01)
Photo Essay
Sociologist Jerry Krause (Brooklyn College) took pictures of his Park Slope, Brooklyn neighborhood
in the aftermath of September 11th, rather than focus on images of destruction. His photo essay can
be seen at:
http://www.commurb.org/features/KraseWTC/index.shtml
Forum for Caregivers
CareShare is an online forum for anyone caring for a seriously ill person. It is a community where
all caregivers can share experiences, ask questions, support one another, and, even gripe. You can find
it at: http://forums.delphiforums.com/careshare
Publications of Interest
The Capacity to Govern: A Report to the Club of Rome by Yehezkel Dror (Frank Cass & Co, 2001). The
first Report dealing with governance, commissioned and approved by the Club of Rome, an independent
global organization sometimes known as 'The Conscience of Humankind.' Available from Amazon.com
All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime by William H. Rehnquist (Knopf, 1998). Rehnquist
acknowledges and criticizes the excesses of civil liberties violations in wartime, but he defends the
need to curtail some liberties in emergency situations. Available from Amazon.com
"Murky Conceptual Waters: the Public and the Private" by Gary T. Marx (in Ethics and Information
Technology, 2001. Vol. 3, no. 3, pp157-169) This paper argues that the public and private be treated
as multi-dimensional concepts, whose meaning lies in how they are interpreted and framed. Available
from http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/garyhome.html
"One Nation, Slightly Divisible" by David Brooks (in Atlantic Monthly, December 2001). The electoral
map of the 2000 presidential race showed big blocks of red (states that went for Bush) stretched across
the heartland, with brackets of blue (states for Gore) along the coasts. Brooks asks the question: Do
our differences effectively split us into two nations, or are they just cracks in a still-united whole?
Available from http://www.theatlantic.com/
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