Dreyfuss for President

One of my favorite people in the world is Richard Dreyfuss.  You all know him as an actor, but he has another profession now: civics scholar.  In specific, he's taught at Oxford's St. Antony College, and has been an outspoken defender of individual rights, and the teaching of American history and civics at the high school level.  He's a surprisingly deep thinker and, possessing an actor's gift for speaking, is delightful and thrilling to listen to, especially on the subject of his country.  He's also a gentleman, with a gift for civility even when conversing with people he strongly disagrees with.



Dreyfuss reminds me of America's uniqueness, and its importance in ushering in the modern democratic age, and really explains what "The American Dream" means, or ought to mean.  As he says, "We teach our children what we want them to know, and we don't teach them what we don't want them to know."  And if we fail to teach them the lessons of logic, debate, critical thinking, American history in context, and civics, then they won't know those things, and they won't have the tools to operate as an educated and responsible sovereign citizen of a democracy.  They won't know--as we're already forgetting-- how to engage the civic body and be a real part of their government.  And when we fail to do that, our only recourse in time of crisis is to sit on our hands as the government tries to function without the input of its people.  And at that point, the government is no longer us.  It's them.

And at that point, what's to stop us from sliding into fascism?