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Timebinder, v. 1, Issue 1, 1944

the least real conception of what actual political power our citizens have as a mass. They "vote as told"; they follow blind orders of the leaders of their chosen political party (or the party to which their father belonged), without regard to the actual handling by those leaders of the powers they have assumed; they are swayed far more by an oily tongue than they are by a personal study into the merits or demerits of candidates, or proposed legislative and administrative plans (said "plans" usually being little more than mere "platform promises" made only to get votes, and without any expectation of being performed.

In plain words, too great a majority of Americans are not trained, and do not THINK about things governmental. If they were and did, most of the abuses of government would disappear in the twinkling of an eye.

Every high school student should have at least one year of compulsory and technical training for Citizenship. And I do NOT mean training in so-called "practical politics". He, (and I include, naturally, she) should be taught the fundamentals of good government, and the rights and privileges -- AND THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES inherent in his citizenship should be stressed to him.

The spectacles of national elections with half of less of the qualified voters participating, is a sin and a crime perpetrated by those who should be the first and most insistent in the proper education of our citizens -- the ones who select [[underline]]what[[end underline]] the teachers are to teach. For it is not always nor usually the fault of the individual teacher. If you are one who thinks otherwise, it is time you started making a little private investigation for your own amazement -- and I do mean you'll be amazed if you don't already know the facts in this matter.

Never were the times so favorable to the citizen who is really concerned and wants to know what conditions are; what is being done, and what are the principles of our way of national governmental life. There are easily available countless books on government; there are uncounted daily papers, good magazine articles, and radio talks by all sorts and all types of men of the most varied beliefs and political philosophies.

But unless the citizen has been trained since adolescence to know what to look for or to listen to in an article or speech, he will not be able to do his utmost as a thinking and deciding citizen. He will be apt to follow the present easy rule of letting his emotions be swayed by an unctuous voice or a trickily-written treatise, that do not fairly and impartially present the facts.

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the least real conception of what actual political power our citizens have as a mass. They "vote as told"; they follow blind orders of the leaders of their chosen political party (or the party to which their father belonged), without regard to the actual handling by those leaders of the powers they have assumed; they are swayed far more by an oily tongue than they are by a personal study into the merits or demerits of candidates, or proposed legislative and administrative plans (said "plans" usually being little more than mere "platform promises" made only to get votes, and without any expectation of being performed. In plain words, too great a majority of Americans are not trained, and do not THINK about things governmental. If they were and did, most of the abuses of government would disappear in the twinkling of an eye. Every high school student should have at least one year of compulsory and technical training for Citizenship. And I do NOT mean training in so-called "practical politics". He, (and I include, naturally, she) should be taught the fundamentals of good government, and the rights and privileges -- AND THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES inherent in his citizenship should be stressed to him. The spectacles of national elections with half of less of the qualified voters participating, is a sin and a crime perpetrated by those who should be the first and most insistent in the proper education of our citizens -- the ones who select [[underline]]what[[end underline]] the teachers are to teach. For it is not always nor usually the fault of the individual teacher. If you are one who thinks otherwise, it is time you started making a little private investigation for your own amazement -- and I do mean you'll be amazed if you don't already know the facts in this matter. Never were the times so favorable to the citizen who is really concerned and wants to know what conditions are; what is being done, and what are the principles of our way of national governmental life. There are easily available countless books on government; there are uncounted daily papers, good magazine articles, and radio talks by all sorts and all types of men of the most varied beliefs and political philosophies. But unless the citizen has been trained since adolescence to know what to look for or to listen to in an article or speech, he will not be able to do his utmost as a thinking and deciding citizen. He will be apt to follow the present easy rule of letting his emotions be swayed by an unctuous voice or a trickily-written treatise, that do not fairly and impartially present the facts. 22