How People Learn to Be Civic Tidbits and

“How People Learn to Be Civic” { Tidbits and questions from Michael Schudson’s essay.

How do we come by our idea of what makes a good citizen? { How do those ideas become second nature?

Note Schudson’s mention of Nazi Germany’s nervousness about showy patriotism: Do we have something to learn from Germany when it comes to tensions around our confederate monuments? Are we seeing any other displays of “patriotism” that Schudson might find alarming?

Is this an accurate (fair? ) comparison to make?

How about military parades? Are they “showy patriotism? ” (rain has fallen on Trump’s parade dreams)

Michael Schudson describes three senses of citizenship…

1. Political sense of citizenship: generally marked by the right to vote. Consider Guam and Puerto Rico. Consider gerrymandering. Consider voter id laws that make voting difficult or even impossible for people of color.

2. Legal sense of citizenship: Nationality (marked by passport/other types of “citizenship papers”).

Miguel Perez Jr. who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan with the US Army. He faces deportation to Mexico. His story is, as many are, complicated. But he says he loves the country he’s served. Does he deserve the same rights as (legal) American citizens? Read and consider.

3. Socio-cultural citizenship: “Emotional identification with a nation and its flag. ” consider the case of one US Army veteran…

People emotionally identify with a flag [or other representations of statehood] that many others see as antithetical to the values of the state.

Schudson doesn’t focus on what a good citizen is, but more about what and how we learn How we enact good citizenship. Who is a “good citizen. ” Who is allowed to be a (good) citizen.

And so the questions is: Are there citizens who are seen as better or more “legitimate” than others?

Everyday life. Structures of Attention. Shared Enterprise. Civic Infrastructure. Four Ways People Become Civic.

1. Everyday Life

When civic activities become a part of everyday life they become invisible, something we stop paying attention to, they become rituals that often lose their initial/intended meaning. Can you think of examples? (Check out this discussion of the history of the Thanksgiving holiday. )

“The ritual of something like saying the Pledge (of Allegiance), the activity of it, the collective enterprise of it, leaves a residue. ” Can we learn to recognize the “residue” and examine it?

2. Structures of Attention

“What we are called to attend to and what we are called to ignore” Who/what do we see? Whose voices do we hear? Who/what is invisible? Whose voices are silenced/unheard?

Consider Liu Bolin’s (The Invisible Man) art:

If this were your art installation, where would you choose to “hide” someone to represent invisibility in the United States?

Justice Felix Frankfurter: “The presidency is the most important educational system in the country. ” Is this true? If so, what are we learning now?

Civic Infrastructure { One way people become civic.

“Democracy does not come cheap. ” Infrastructure means things like roads, schools, etc. , but also personnel (volunteers, professionals, experts, skilled people).

Who is able to have a civil society? Who is not?

Finally, consider the idea of commonplaces. How might you connect commonplaces to Schudson’s ideas about civic life? Are you able to recognize commonplaces about civic life in your own life?

Schudson, Michael. “How People Learn to Be Civic. ” United We Serve: National Service and the Future of Citizenship. Dionne, E. J. , et al. , editors.