“I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands,
One nation under God, indivisible,
With liberty and justice for all.”
On March 9, 2010 some 200 parents, boy scouts, and members of the media stood together at the start of the Alpine School District board meeting and pledged allegiance to our Republic. Directly following the pledge the school board offered a mea culpa regarding a link on the district Web site that led to an essay bashing the idea of America as a Republic. The board then proceeded to defend the district’s guiding principle, prominently displayed in twenty-foot format at district headquarters: “Enculturating the Young into a Social and Political Democracy.”
Republic or Democracy? Does it matter? And what is meant by “Enculturating,” “Political Democracy,” and “Social Democracy?” Perhaps most importantly, what is origin and context of these words used together? When a school district creates a motto or a mission statement, words are chosen carefully. Let us therefore examine both the meaning of these words and the context in which they appear.
Our Republic
That our form of government is a Republic is indisputable. Merriam-Webster defines a republic as follows:
1 : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
The United States Constitution, the founding document through which our government derives its powers (and protects the rights of the citizens), states:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government.” (United States Constitution, Art. 4, Sec. 4, Para. 1.)
Our founding documents, together with modern sources, make it clear: our government is a Republic.
Political Democracy
By contrast, the meaning of the word “democracy” depends entirely upon the context in which it appears. Unfortunately, modern sources give two very different meanings for the same term. For example, Merriam-Webster defines a democracy as:
a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly
or
indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections [emphasis added]
With these two very different definitions for the same term, it is no wonder that there is confusion when the word is used. The first definition is the original meaning of the word (see Samuel Johnson: A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755) and was both warned against by America’s founding fathers and promoted by America’s enemies:
“Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” (John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence)
“Democracy is the road to Socialism.” (Karl Marx, author of the Communist Manifesto)
“Democracy is indispensable to Socialism.” (Vladimir Lenin, Russian Communist leader)
While some speak loosely of the American form of government as a “democracy,” doing so invites ambiguity, as one never knows which definition is intended: the first (direct democracy, as meant by Adams, Marx, and Lenin), or the second (representative democracy).
The squishy term “democracy” appeared 13 times on the Mission Statement page of the ASD Web site (prior to March 9). In an effort to clarify, the ASD board recently offered their own definition of a democracy as a “type of republic.” This unique definition only adds to the confusion.
Social Democracy
The ASD guiding principle also mentions “Social Democracy.” Social democracy is defined by Merriam-Webster as follows:
1: a political movement advocating a gradual and peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism by democratic means
2: a democratic welfare state that incorporates both capitalist and socialist practices
As an example, Western European countries, while casually called “democracies,” are more accurately described as “social democracies,” wherein the people have voted for themselves a socialist welfare state. Such a state is characterized by a powerful central government that provides for the “equitable distribution” of the citizens’ wealth (see brittanica.com). These European forms of government are quite different than America’s Republic, where the government has enumerated and limited powers, mainly the safeguarding of the rights of the American people.
In response to public outcry, the ASD school board explained that for them, the phrase “social and political democracy” refers to the “social and political skills [that children] need to successfully contribute in America’s culture of freedom…” This explanation defies reason, in light of universally-accepted definitions of the words, and especially given the origin and context of the phrase “Enculturating the Young into a Social and Political Democracy.”
Origin and Context
What is the origin of the ASD guiding principles? They come directly from the self-described humanist and social engineer John I. Goodlad, who has helped shape the direction of the Alpine School District for the last twenty-five years. The ASD principles are Goodlad’s principles. They come directly from Goodlad’s published “Agenda for Education in a Democracy,” more commonly known as “The Agenda.” While the framework of The Agenda is feel-good, the underlying goals are completely at odds with the values shared by many in Utah County. Consider a few of Goodlad’s many statements on the family, morals, academics, and politics:
Goodlad on the Family:
- “Most youth still hold the same values of their parents… if we do not alter this pattern, if we don’t resocialize, our system will decay.”
- “Parents do not own their children. They have no ‘natural right’ to control their education fully.”
- “Parents and the general public must be [resocialized] also… Otherwise, children and youth…may find themselves in conflict with values assumed in the home.”
On Morals:
- “There is a belief by some that there exists…a ‘correct’ view of the world. This view is incorrect. There is no single worldview that deserves complete acceptance.”
- “…educators must resist the quest for certainty. If there were certainty there would be no scientific advancement. So it is with morals and patriotism.”
- “…a moral community [is] one that uses democratic…processes to determine right from wrong, good from bad.”
On Academics:
- “A standardized curriculum of basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic cannot prepare people to participate in a democracy.”
- “The curriculum of the future ‘will be what one might call the humanistic curriculum.’”
On Politics:
- “Schools cannot be tools of Pavlovian patriotism…”
- “…the state we should strive for is better described in Deweyan terms as a social democracy.”
- “The knowledge of how to run a democracy is not possessed by all parents equally. It must be supplemented with public education.”
- “The Agenda has been developed to address the political and content issues of school.”
“Enlightened social engineering is required to face situations that demand global action now.”
Words Matter
Returning to the original question, what does the term “democracy” mean in the context of the Alpine School District (Goodlad) motto? While the school board may equivocate, Goodlad is clear: a “democracy” as an environment where morals are not absolute—they are defined by the community. And the community Goodlad aspires to, for America, is Social Democracy, a peaceful transition to socialism.
The discussion of “Republic” versus “Democracy,” is not just a local one. As part of the larger debate that is going on in our country it is reminiscent of a question posed at the birth of our country. Following the Constitutional convention in 1787 Benjamin Franklin was reportedly asked, “Sir, what have you given us?” He replied, “A Republic, ma’am, if you can keep it.”
Apt words, indeed.
