The “3-Minute Civics” series in the Monitor Forum – written by Dan Marcus, Rob Fried, Dave Alcox and Tracy Hahn-Burkett – is timely. I recall retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter publicly calling for better civics training. I read the Sandra Day O’Connor biography, First, and she put her retirement years to the good with designing a civics course for high school teaching. Maybe the “3-Minute Civics” columns in this paper could give us a review of O’Connor’s civics course.
Now I’m reading Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy by Dan Abrams and David Fisher. I’m just at the start where it’s about progressive Republican former president Teddy Roosevelt having a libel suit slapped on him because he dared to challenge the Democratic and Republican parties’ boss system.
“Roosevelt’s objective …was to achieve ‘the most thorough-going and authoritative exposure of political crookedness that we have yet seen.’ ” The authors in the introduction call this “a truly compelling trial” that should not be forgotten. Teddy Roosevelt was seeking redress of abuse of power, “the underbelly of seedy political backdoor deal making and even profiteering.” Doesn’t that sound appropriate to this time just a bit more than 100 years later, when our president’s choices challenge the status quo, yes, but also violate basic decency and honesty?
LYNN RUDMIN CHONG
Sanbornton