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Why Study America?

A Study Group led by George Nethercutt, 10-year U.S. Congressman and Founder of the George Nethercutt Foundation
Wednesdays, 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Littauer 166 (Conference Room, IOP)

NOTE: The first session will be on Monday, February 13, 6-7:30pm and pizza will be served

Most Americans don’t know the story of America or understand its founding principles, the way government works or the elements that have helped our nation progress.  This Study Group is essential for any student who wants to be a leader or develop skills that will strengthen the American political system.

            Scheduled sessions and guests will include:
February 13th—Congressman Nethercutt will share insights on how freedom, democracy and representative government embodied in our Constitution have made America unique, and what steps will be necessary to perpetuate the American system. Can civic literacy assure that perpetuation? We will also begin a Student Project to design a questionnaire for all federal candidates for the 2012 elections, using the citizenship exam as a model.
February 29th—Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on America being the world’s superpower in a dangerous world: a bulwark against oppression.
March 7th—Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, a former President of Gonzaga University and a leading international ethicist and scholar on America as a nation failing to live up to its ideals. How have politics and public policy issues kept the U.S. disunited?
March 21st—Congressman Nethercutt will lead an interactive dialogue on the freedom and vibrancy of America’s music, education, literature, religion and art.  How has music played a part in defining public opinion on historic issues?
March 28th —Congressman Nethercutt will lead a discussion on how economic disparities have driven political action: a 2000-2012 retrospective.
April 4th— Maarten de Groot, a Harvard alum, financial adviser and wealth manager, on how America’s interests are perceived abroad: A European view.
April 11th—Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, a former President of Gonzaga University and a leading international ethicist and scholar on America as a nation failing to live up to its ideals. How have politics and public policy issues kept the U.S. disunited? April 18th—Edward J. Rollins, Republican presidential campaign manager and CNN/FOX political analyst, on the changing landscape of the politics of extremism.
April 25 —Brian Lamb, Founder and Chairman of C-SPAN, on America’s evolution as a free society: an example for others?