Tocqueville Seminar and Blog 4

While Not In Seminar…

Blog 4: The Nanny State
Read one of the following two articles.  Choose the one that seems LESS likely to match your viewpoint.  So, if you tend to think the federal government is too big for its britches, read “Three Cheers for the Nanny State.”  If you tend to think government regulation is useful and helpful, read “The Tyranny of the Nanny State.”

• Three Cheers for the Nanny State
• The Tyranny of the Nanny State

Respond!  What points does the article make that are thought-provoking?  Has the federal government over-reached?  What do you think?  Where do you fit in the ongoing federalism debate?

Blog Responses
Read at least 3 blogs, and write a thoughtful and substantive comment on each!  ONE of the three must be from the list on the Blog Roundup page of Wowza blogs!  Take note of their wit, humor, use of language, and deep thinking, and use them to make your future blog posts better.  Or, if they so inspire you, go back and make your current blog posts better.

Tocqueville Seminar Questions

1. Where does intellectual authority reside in the USA according to Tocqueville?  Does this still hold true today?
2. What predominant ideas hold the US together ?  (pg1, paragraph 2)
3. What is Tocqueville’s critique of democracy?  How accurate do you think it is?
4. What is the relationship between democracy and tyranny?
5. Is oppression by many more morally wrong than oppression by a few?  Can oppression be beneficial?  (Is it better to accept beliefs from a single authority (or a class of men), or from the majority?)
6. Page 4, first sentence:  “For nothing is more customary in man than to recognize superior wisdom in the person of his oppressor.”  What does this mean?  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?
7. Page 3, paragraph 9: “…for it would seem probable that, as they are all endowed with equal means of judging, the greater truth should go with the greater number.”  Do you agree with this premise?  Why/why not?
8. Do you think that we are living under “The Tyranny of the Majority” in the US today?  Why/why not?
9. Do you think that in the US today faith in public opinion is “a species of religion?”  (page 4, paragraph 12, last sentence)
10. How does this article relate to our current Presidential campaigns?  Be specific!

Seminar Writing
This piece is going to give me a baseline on your writing abilities, and will give us a chance to practice self-assessment and set some writing goals for the rest of the semester. 

1. Honors- See the honors application handout
2. Everyone Else- 300-500 words (about 1-1.5 pages, double-spaced), in response to one of the seminar questions listed above.  Make it good!  Use the rubric as a guide!
3. DUE:  Monday, 9/28.  Email or share with Lori.  Type!  Proofread!  Cite!

HOMEWORK

• Field trip permission slip!  Get it to Lori!
• Start Seminar Writing.  DUE: Monday