Education for Citizenship in a Pluralistic Democracy

The existential questions confronted repeatedly by each of us in becoming an adult define a locus of authority for each relevant aspect of our lives. These questions are:

1. What authority should I retain for myself (Over what?);
2. What authority should I concede to others (Over what?); and
3. What authority am I forced to surrender? (Over what?)

It is the mission of religious and many secular organizations, e.g. the State, to convince, persuade, seduce, coerce or dupe us to concede authority over certain aspects of our lives to them: these are then called duties and obligations. As children, dependent and ignorant, we willy-nilly concede authority to those who importune us. However, as adults we ought to question -- as Thomas Aquinas reminds us -- whether the faith we concede as a child is appropriate as a free adult.

To examine these issues further, see PERSONAL LIBERATION THROUGH EDUCATION


Cordially

--- EGR