People Features
By April MacIntyre Nov 19, 2006, 19:44 GMT
Richard Dreyfuss urges U.S. back to civics classes
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Bill Maher - View Bill Maher Pictures - Bill Maher News
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Richard Dreyfuss - View Richard Dreyfuss Pictures - Richard Dreyfuss News
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Older Talkback
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Bill Oreilly advocstes activism on every broadcast. How come Richard Dreyfus didn't mention him?
No one is fooled by Mr. Dreyfus.
I am an avid fan of 'Real Time with Bill Maher.' This week's episode was one of the best. Thank you Bill, for letting Richard Dryfuss speak without interruption.
We needed to hear that we can lose our democracy as we know it in as little time as one generation. The way we have let this administration take our values and ideals and flush them straight down the toilet without question has been obscene.
I now know how the German people were led like sheep by Hitler to the evil that was the holocaust.
Yolie:
The German people made an active decision to follow hitler. They were not led.
By the way, go back and ask the liberals in congress where our gun rights went, our 4th amendment rights(civil forefeiture) and search and seizure(Waco, Texas)
Bill Mahar is, simply, a provocateur. He made a fool of himself on Oreilly, by calling religion a 'Mass Psychosis' . I'd bet a paycheck he couldn't describe Psychosis if he tried.
SP4
This issue is far too important for the snide remarks of the commenters. As a social studies teacher of 37 years, I think we should use this opportunity to review what we do and decide what we could do better. This should be a goal of liberals and conservatives alike.
I commend Mr. Dreyfuss for his emphasis that our society truly needs enlightenment of a good civics lesson in order for all to become better citizens. It is a real shame that most Americans claim a citizenship that does not exists legally. A three judge panel, all of whom were citizens of one of the several States and not citizens of the United States, stated unequivocally that 'there is no such thing as a citizen of the United States', see Ex Parte Knowles, 5 Cal. 300, 302 (1855). So why do Americans claim a citizenship that does not include the fundamental rights protected in the Constitution? They have been duped, as all have unwittingly registered to claim a benefit from the United States (social security) that the courts have repeatedly ruled allows the government to restrict or completely deny access to the courts. See Babcock, Tutan, Dismuke and other cases. How else can one file a writ of habeas corpus in court only to have the court change it into a motion whereby it easily rules that the motion is denied? Wake up People, you're not a sovereign citizen until you regain your sovereign rights as a citizen of one of the several States.
Think I'm wrong? Prove it with case law as you have no rights unless it is honored in the courts. And that is an entirely different story.
Can anyone provide me an email address to pass on these vital case law cites to Mr. Dreyfuss? I am coming up empty handed as he is well insulated.
Not too long ago I started a lecture before a group of lawyers about the changes in the Bankruptcy Code by reading from the Declaration of Independence. Before I could disclose from where I was reading, one lawyer stood up to call my recitation unAmerican and unPatriotic. I asked if he thought that those whose penned it were too unAmerican? I got a round of applause. I also said that as lawyers we are bound by our pledge to uphold the Constitution, which I believe is intended to include the dictates of the Declaration of Independence. I agree with Dreyfus that the teaching of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and other important documents have been cast aside in the name of just getting through it! History is a living breathing element of our genes, and as has long been said, those who do not study it are doomed to repeat it. Not since the Civil War has our country been divided by designating states by colors; then blue and grey, and today, blue and red. The effect is the same. The intent is to divide and allow the despots to conquer our constitutional democracy through the twin columns of intolerance and ignorance; just as every other great democracy has fallen.
Read and understand the Declaration of Independence where it is stated in pertinent part:
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
I applaud Mr. Dreyfus's concerns. We desparately need more attention to our great labor, minority and feminist leaders in the U.S. over the past two centuries along with attention to solid evidence and carefully structured debate and discussion of the nature of the Declaration of Independence and the Preambule to the U.S. Constitution and their relevance to current issues. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a detailed look at great individuals and their leadership from 1630 to the present. As Carlyle stated, history is the story of great individuals and their impact on the lives of their contemporaries and all thecitizens who followed. Enough ranting and raving on talk shows. Back to reason, evidence and careful argumentation. Great work Mr. Dreyfus.
Dreyfuss spoke with an eloquence and passion that silenced all the snide, shallow, easy target remarks that Bill Maher has fallen into the bad habit of making. Dreyfuss is asking that we begin thinking of ourselves not as consumers, opiating ourselves at the mall, but rather, as citizens in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It's up to us. No one else. In whose interest is it that we stay fat, dumb, and (not so) happy, consuming our lives away? Dreyfuss is right. No one understands how representative democracies work without being taught. It's time we took back the responsibilities we have so blithely given away.
When I first saw Richard Dreyfuss in 'The Apprentice of Duddy Kravitz,' I became a fan. In 'Mr. Holland's Opus,' he did not disappoint; however, I have never been more proud of him than I am today after hearing him this morning on Oprah's show. I am a retired high school English teacher who ultimately worked with at-risk students. I began every school year insisting that my students learn to say 'please and 'thank you.' When the senior students took our school's equivalent of civics, I told them that it was the most important course they would take at the school. Of course, that statement often fell on deaf ears. Nevertheless, I always said it, and I hope that as they mature, in their mind they will remember that someone once told them that.
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