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The Communitarian Update
Number 57
October 6, 2003
Tell us what you think!
The U.S. Justice Department has started to use anti-terror laws to fight garden-variety crime
including money laundering, pedophilia, and drug smuggling. Civil libertarians argue that law
enforcement officials now have an enormous amount of special powers that were granted them to
fight terrorists, in the wake of 9/11, because of the special threats they pose. Others hold that
these new tools would serve the nation well if also used to deal with drug lords, pedonphiles and
other criminals. Thus, if in the course of an anti-terror investigation TSA officers in an airport
uncover other incriminating evidence, say searching for a bomb but finding drugs, should the
officers be required to look the other way?
Please respond briefly and tell us how to identify you. We do not run anonymous responses
because we hold that true identities make for better dialogues. Please also provide some details,
if not your affiliation, at least your town and nation, to help us understand your perspective.
We want to hear your story
We are working on a book about the ways we celebrate holidays. One chapter deals with
celebrations that involve ex-kin (divorced parents, etc.). We are interested in collecting stories
about how people deal with the issues associated with these kinds of celebrations. If you have a
story to share, we want to hear it! Here are some things to think about:
1) The stress involved with hosting these celebrations (e.g., planning a wedding, Bar Mitzvah, or
Confirmation when a child's parents are divorced, or hosting a Christmas party when you have
divorced grandparents, etc.)
2) How these kinds of celebrations have been practiced (Were the divorced parents separated
throughout the event? How did you try to make all family members feel welcome? Were some
parts of the celebration omitted or changed?)
3) How children of divorced parents (and divorced parents themselves) feel about the holidays,
and how their families cope with splitting time (Do they trade off holidays every year? Are there
any new traditions that they have developed? Do divorced parents communicate with each other
about the child's plans?)
Those who are interested in sharing can either reply to this email or contact Jared Bloom by
email, (jbloom@communitariannetwork.org) or by phone (202-994-1144).
To read more about “The Ways We Celebrate,” visit
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/etzioni/A275.html.
For daily comments and analysis, much of it concerning communitarian matters such as the
growth of the global community and debates about constitutional rights, visit
http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog/.
News of Interest
Bush Administration Permits Federal Funding for Religious Groups
Bush and his cabinet completed four government regulations to allow charitable, faith-based
groups to receive federal grants. Since last year, the Department of Health and Human Services
has awarded $30.5 million in grants to faith-based groups in 45 states; the new regulations would
increase sources of federal funding currently available to religious organizations. Opponents
argue these measures will erode the separation between church and state and permit tax dollars to
go to groups that make hiring decisions based on a candidate’s religious persuasion. For more on
this policy debate, see
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030922/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_religious_groups_4.
For-Profit Colleges set to Lobby Congress
For-Profit Colleges will pressure the U.S. Congress to include them in the Higher Education Act,
making them eligible for federal student-aid programs. During the early 1990s, these institutions
received negative publicity as short-term, money-driven operations. Today they attract high
numbers of low-income students who benefit from a reported 96 percent post-college job
placement rate. The Bush administration has praised these institutions for their flexibility and
responsiveness to the needs of working adults, though it has not yet declared whether it will
support the move. Traditional, non-profit colleges criticize for-profit motives in education and
they worry that their inclusion in the competition for federal aid would further stretch the already
shrinking availability of funds. For more on this story, see the September 5, 2003 issue of the
Chronicle of Higher Education.
Study: American Workers Adopt Healthy Habits as Health Costs Rise
A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that U.S. workers are making healthy lifestyle
changes based on concerns about rising healthcare costs. Nearly half of those studied said that
they started to improve their diet in order to decrease their need for healthcare; 37 percent sought
routine screening tests; and 30 percent said that they started regular exercise programs.
Americans may be right to worry: according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, monthly
employer-sponsored healthcare premiums rose 13.9 percent between 2002 and 2003, which
constitutes their sharpest increase since 1990. To read the study results go
here.
Publications of Interest
Political Theory of Global Citizenship by April Cater (Routledge, 2001)
Discusses transnational responsibilities as well as global human rights in the context of an
evolving cosmopolitanism wherein “global citizenship” is a well-established goal. To support her
cosmopolitan thesis, Carter provides a survey of the history of Western political theory from
1500, including the deterioration of national sovereignty and the rise of the global community.
Analyzes contemporary developments in transnational social movements that focus on the
environment, refugees, and foreign aid and development. To purchase, visit
http://www.routledge.com.
Neighbours from Hell: The Politics of Behaviour by Frank Field (Politico, 2003)
Argues that anti-social behavior, from assault to noise complaints, is on the rise due to the
erosion of respect for others. Presents a theory called the politics of behavior that aims to
reinforce the teaching of values and responsibilities in situations where poor parenting has led to
anti-social behavior in youth. Promotes policies that emphasize discipline, surrogate parenting by
authorities, and the strengthened position of teachers and social workers in order to curb unruly
behavior and disorder amongst the young. To order, see
http://www.politicos.co.uk/item.jsp?ID=3441.
Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities (The
Commission on Children at Risk, 2003)
Points to the rising levels of mental and behavioral problems in American youth including
depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, and suicide as evidence that children are
biologically in need of close attachments to others in order to find moral and spiritual meaning in
life. Accordingly, the report argues that America’s youth require more “authoritative
communities”– groups of individuals who value their commitments to each other and seek to
model and pass on the values that foster a moral, meaningful existence. To order a copy of the
report, go to http://www.americanvalues.org/html/hardwired.html#order.
New Issue of The Responsive Community!
(Free sample issues available)
Volume 13, Issue 4, Fall 2003
UP FRONT
Culture Clash and AIDS Prevention– Edward C. Green
U.S. to Support a Religious Civil Society– Amitai Etzioni
Taming the Justice Error Demon– Brian Forst
ESSAYS
No Community, No Democracy, Part I
Charles Taylor
Does democracy inherently exclude some groups while including others? Part I describes the
dynamic of exclusion in democracy and points to the need for a common identity.
A Movement for the Commons?
Peter Levine
Explores the promise and pitfalls of the idea of a commons within the digital sector.
The Family-Hostile Corporation
Joan C. Williams
How corporations can help ease the pressure off of working fathers.
Boston’s Ten Point Coalition: A Faith-Based Approach to Fighting Crime in the Inner-City
Sasha Polakow-Suransky
Is Boston’s Ten Point program the communal answer to solving the plague of inner-city youth
violence?
Quiet Victories: What We Can Learn from Success Stories in Health
Stephen L. Isaacs and Steven A. Schroeder
Four victories in health during the last century exemplify lessons learned that shed light on social
policy and offer guidance for the future.
THE COMMUNITY BOOKSHELF
Consuming Citizens – Robert Westbrook
Review of Lizbeth Cohen’s A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in
Postwar America
Citizenship and Religious Education – Steve Jones
Review of Making Good Citizens: Education and Civil Society, edited by Diane Ravitch and
Joseph P. Viteritti
Diminishing Returns on Civic Engagement – Nina Eliasoph
Review of Theda Skocpol’s Diminishing Democracy: From Membership to Management in
American Civic Life
The Community’s Pulse
Libertarians, Authoritarians, Communitarians
Commentary – Russell Fox
For more information about The Responsive Community, visit www.communitariannetwork.org.
To receive a FREE sample issue, please e-mail your mailing address to comnet@gwu.edu or call
either 800-245-7460 or 202-994-4355. Same to subscribe. Ordering information is also available
online at http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq/rcq_order.html.
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