Gerald R. Ford Leadership Forum
by Richard Gunderman, IUPUI Nine times in our nation’s history a US vice president has ascended to the office of president. In eight of these cases, the vice president assumed the office on the death of the president, and in one case, as the result of a presidential resignation. The fact that Joe Biden would …
by Jeff Polet, Director of the Ford Leadership Forum, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Aristotle argued that the only just polity had to be a “mixed regime,” and that meant one that blended popular and aristocratic elements. Too much power concentrated in a ruling class would become an oligarchy, and too much in the people …
by John von Heyking The current crisis of social isolation and political polarization found in the United States and to a lesser extent in other liberal democracies has led recently to an upsurge of interest in friendship as a political category. Aristotle argued that “like-mindedness (homonoia) seems to be friendship in a political sense…. For …
by Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Civics education is often taught to students as if being a good citizen is like following a recipe. Take certain steps—be courteous to your neighbors, read the news, pay attention to the debates, listen to both sides, vote once you turn 18, show …
What Grounds Engaged Citizens? A Shared Understanding of Our Democratic Values Read More »
by Richard Gunderman, IUPUI For about a decade beginning in 1965, NBC late night weekend programming consisted of Best of Carson reruns. Then in 1974, Johnny Carson announced that he wished to stop using The Tonight Show on weekends, instead airing them on weeknights and allowing him to take more time off. Network executive Dick …
The Hidden Costs of Ridicule: Chevy Chase and SNL Read More »
Henry T. Edmondson III, Georgia College The men and women of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives love their job so much they are afraid to do it; because if they do it, they may lose it. What they lack, according to Federalist Paper # 51, is “ambition.” Federalist Paper #51 is often treated …
By Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Tuesday marks the first day of school in our home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Schools in other cities will soon follow, with our home state’s 1.5 million kindergarten through 12th grade students all being back in the classroom shortly after Labor Day. …
The First Week Back: Where Engaged Citizens are Shaped Read More »
by Susan McWilliams Barndt, Pomona College Betty Ford wrote two autobiographies. One, The Times of My Life (1978), tells the story of a young girl from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who became—much to her surprise—the wife of the President of the United States. The other, Betty: A Glad Awakening (1987), tells the story of a wife …
by Don Cooper, Director of Civic Initiatives, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation One of the challenges of public education is that the people and stakeholders involved in it—parents, students, teachers, business and industry, colleges and universities, taxpayers, elected officials, and others—cannot reach an agreement on its purpose. Broad-stroke consensus exists on public education’s importance: Education …
Dr. John C. Pinheiro, Director of Research, Acton Institute One of the best presidential ranking polls is conducted from time to time by the Wall Street Journal, which strategically interviews a relatively small but ideologically balanced group of scholars. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin Roosevelt always appear in the top five. The bottom five …
The U.S. Constitution and Gerald R. Ford’s Virtues Read More »
