Meditations: Vol. 2, Issue 3
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Today, students in our sixth annual Strategic Broadening Seminar (SBS) for the US Army are en route to Gettysburg and Washington, DC. For the first time in our SBS program, students will spend a week considering our nation's history at historical sites and will meet with leading political, military, academic and policy thinkers in our nation's capital.
Another initiative includes developing and growing our monthly newsletter. This continuing education project allows us to present resources that reflect our core programming philosophy: to read, think, speak, and write (a lesson we draw from John Adams).
In this issue:
- UofL Political Science Professor and Chair Jasmine Farrier recommends Democratic Constitution, a book that illustrates how many actors--not just judges--are responsible for shaping our understanding of what is "constitutional" today.
- McConnell Scholar Jacob Abrahamson's ('17) makes a plea for voters to set high expectations for leaders as a way to inspire us to be better, work toward greater community and to solve big issues.
- McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg continues his walk through leadership lessons from Machiavelli's The Prince in our latest Vital Remnants podcast.
- Video of U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's 2012 visit to the McConnell Center. The core ideas presented in his speech--cyber threats, a need for more public service and ideas on how to improve gaps between civilian-military relations--are key discussion points of our SBS program.
At the end of the week, members of our 2019 SBS cohort will head back to their posts around the world and continue to sacrifice on behalf of our country. I invite you to join me in thanking our soldier and civilian students for their service and in wishing them well on their lifelong commitment to learning.
GlyptusAnn Grider Jones, Editor
In this installment of the Vital Remnants podcast, Dr. Gary Gregg guides listeners through chapters six and seven of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, identifying seven lessons for modern leaders. Those lessons include warnings about founding new enterprises, a caution to grow your enterprise slowly rather than quickly, and a core lesson for contemporary political leaders about the importance of gaining popular support and some techniques for doing it.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ON:
... In the absolute barrage of misinformation and pointless rhetoric found on social media, I have seen a few reasons to be hopeful, but I have mostly been given reasons to be pessimistic about the political process. However, deep down my experiences have shown me that people are inherently good, and I firmly believe that the United States can recover from this societal rut we seem to be stuck in. While I do not think that politicians can or should solve every problem, I do think that if we set high expectations for our leaders, we can start electing individuals who inspire us to be better, to work toward community, and to solve the big issues that seem to keep people apart.
{Book Recommendation}
The Democratic Constitution, 2nd Ed. by Neal Devins and Louis Fisher (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015)
Book recommended by Jasmine Farrier, PhD, UofL Political Science
Many think that the Supreme Court is the “final word” on major constitutional questions in the US. Although there is no such language in the Constitution, the media, politicians -- and even judges themselves -- use misleading words along these lines to describe the role of the federal judiciary.
In reality, constitutional development is broader, deeper, and far more interesting. This book shows the many ways that regular voters, participants in social movements, policy advocates, and members of all three branches in the US government and every state shape our current conceptions of what is “constitutional” across many subjects....
{Worth the Watch}
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
In this 2012 McConnell Center talk, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta considered cyber security threats, made a call for public service and addressed military-civilian relations. More than 50 guests have appeared in the Center's Distinguished Speaker Series since 1993.
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- Please rate and review our podcast.
- Let us know what books you would like Dr. Gary Gregg to consider for future podcasts.
