| Welcome back to our weekly newsletter for RealClear’s American Civics portal, which begins with an essay by David Bolotin, a tutor emeritus at St. John’s College in Sante Fe. Bolotin focuses on two important aims of liberal education: the education of citizens “in a free and self-governing society” and producing students with free minds. He notes that civic education “is rightly thought to be necessary on the grounds that responsible citizenship requires a broad understanding of human life, and even of the place of human life in the larger whole.” Peter C. Myers argues that Frederick Douglass deserves the title of statesman due to his rhetorical praise of the American Founders, which was in the service of holding Americans accountable to their founding principles. “Statesmanship, as Douglass understood and practiced it,” Myers notes, “consisted in a tireless, courageous, hopeful, and prudent struggle to recover America’s national promise, ultimately by a reformation of the moral sentiments, and thus of the souls, of his fellow citizens.” He called both white and black Americans to orient their politics around the laws of nature – the obligations and duties all people have, which are situated within a framework of principles of justice. Samuel Abrams makes the case that Americans think the 1619 Project’s Nikole Hannah-Jones is wrong to say that parents shouldn’t have the authority to decide what’s being taught in public schools. He cites findings from the August 2021 American Perspectives Survey that reveal “Americans overwhelmingly believe politicians should stay out of local education decisions and that curricular planning should be left up to teachers and parents.” He notes that differences appear, however, when considering partisan divides: “Democrats are far more willing to defer to teachers, while Republicans want a much larger role for parents in education decisions.” Essential Reading David Bolotin, National Association of Scholars Liberal education is education appropriate to a free human being, or education toward the proper cultivation of freedom.... In the News Rich Lowry, Politico Ben Sheehan, The Hill Keisha M. Blain, MSNBC Wilfred Reilly, National Review Peter D'Abrosca, American Greatness Michael S. Kochin, RealClearPublicAffairs Samuel Abrams, RealClearEducation Becky Little, History.com John F. Harris, Politico Mark Lawrence Schrad, The Atlantic Foley, McConnell, Pildes, & Smith, Washington Post Fred Lucas, Daily Signal Spencer Lindquist, The Federalist C. Bradley Thompson, Substack John Tomasi, Heterodox Academy Chris Flannery, American Story From August to the last week of December, as David McCullough writes, “1776 had been as dark a time as those devoted... Lee Hamilton, Center for Civic Education This third course in the Strengthening Democracy in America series features interviews with the Honorable Lee Hamilton... Robby Soave, Rising Robby Soave reacts to 1619 Project architect, Nikole Hannah-Jones's, recent comments about parent choice in schools... Hannah McCarthy & Nick Capodice, Civics 101 The United States hasn't officially declared war against another country since World War II, and yet, we've been in dozens of conflicts since then. Heal America Heal America’s new video feature, Breaking Bread, invites people from all backgrounds to take a seat at the table to have... Ken Starr & Jeff Sikkenga, American Idea In this special episode of The American Idea, Jeff welcomes Ken Starr, Independent Counsel for the Whitewater Controversy... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories It's Jan. 7, 2022, the first Friday of the New Year, and the day of the week when I reprise ... Today is New Year's Eve, the last day of a trying year in the civic life of this country. It's ... On this day in 1763, Horace Walpole, a British politician and man of letters, wrote an entertaining missive to his cousin, ... | 