Given the current climate of general disagreement among Americans today, one wonders if the country can still find common ground and civility. Can modern Americans be civic friends? Sheehan examines this pressing question by ruminating on the origins of civic friendship. Madison and the Founders made a point of working toward a common cause despite their differences. Can their values and dedication to civic friendship be applied our present political predicament?
春水堂视频 the American National Character Project
The Benson Center promotes critical reflection on the distinctive traditions and political perspectives that characterize Western civilization. It encourages residents of Colorado and the United States to more fully understand and appreciate their past, their future and a free and creative American society within an international environment. Conservative Thought and Policy Guest Speakers bring a unique perspective as guests of the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy program. This year鈥檚 series, the 鈥淎merican National Character Project鈥� expands on the Benson Center鈥檚 2019-20 theme,听American Identities.
The Founding generation recognized the importance of cultivating a national character, by which they meant the formation of 鈥渁 people鈥� dedicated to the principles of the American Revolution and the great experiment in self-government. Today, Americans are fragmented, disunited and unclear about what, if anything, they hold in common. The American National Character Project seeks to explore and identify principles and purposes that Americans do or might in the future share, and to discover how to provide a way forward for republican self-governance in America.
春水堂视频 the Speaker
Colleen Sheehan is the 2019-20听Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought & Policy. Sheehan is a professor of political science at Villanova University and directs the Ryan Center for Free Institutions and the Public Good. Sheehan has served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, was a Pennsylvania gubernatorial appointee to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, and was appointed to the Governor's Advisory Committee on Academic Standards.
Students, faculty, and members of the public听are encouraged to attend the free public lecture, which will be followed by a Q&A session and reception. Preregistration recommended but not required. .听For more information about the Benson Center, please visit /center/benson/.