GSPM Blog

Welcome: The Angry Civics Teacher

Who is the angry civics teacher? That's me, Chuck Cushman, Associate Dean at the GSPM. Over the last several years, I have been thrilled to watch the growth of the political blogosphere - the Internet has given huge numbers of citizens the chance to get directly involved in big policy debates in a way that was impossible before. As a big fan of democracy - and broadening and deepening our practice of it here in the US - I welcome the expansion of opportunity to take part in politics. But I am frequently disappointed when I get to the end of many blog posts and an author has suggested some impossible ‘solution' to the issue raised in the post.

That makes my crazy! How can you fix the problem if you don't know the rules of the political system? If we had more effective civics education in this country - or if we had any at all - we would be in a better position to make use of the power of the Internet to get messages out and to mobilize for change.

That is where I come in. When I see a great idea marred by an impossible solution, I am going to yell, and try to show how you might actually fix it within our system. My answers will not be perfect - but they will be doable. Look forward to my rants and work-arounds as we get this GSPM blog thing going!

And if you have suggestions, questions, or counter-rants, please let me know!!