College of Political Knowledge
Professor’s Classroom
Subject: Political Philosophy/Government
Lecture #1
On Mondays I offer up a post on the workings and beliefs found in Political Philosophy, trying to help people get a grip on what the science is all about…..that has been met with mixed success….so I have decided to offer up some of the more well known aspects of political philosophy…the slogans…the obscure ideas…..and the like…..hopefully this will help people grasp the political side of life….time will tell……
Very recently I was watching the tube and this rally going on in Washington…it was billed as a non-political rally but everything about it was political….anyway…..several of the speakers in their diatribes mentioned the country should return to its traditional values…I got to thinking…just what are those traditional values?
Even more recently I listened to a local Dem. politician running for office and he, in his little speech to those gathered, mentioned a return to traditional values. And once again I asked myself….what are those traditional values?
A political philosopher has the knowledge, but it is NOT his place to try and convince someone or anyone, only to ask questions to help people to understand that which they think they know. He/she will NOT tell you what the answer is but rather ask you if you think you know the answer.
So, I ask again….what are these traditional values all speak of in their speeches?
Is it something in the political thinking of the people? Or is it solely personal opinions on the way of things? Or possibly, a vague catch phrase used to emotional commit people to something they are holding on to to gain some sort of advantage?
Just what are these “traditional values”?
Are they found in the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence or the Constitution? Where can a person go to learn what the values are? Is it a genetic thing? Is it a learned thing? Just where are they?
Should we all have the same traditional values? Or is it a personal thing to be shared with no one? Should the country have a shared traditional values? If that is the case, where would an American find references in the “official founding documents”?
If the values are from a special person, then who would that be? And why are they the ones that have that special power over everyone else?
What are these “Traditional Values”? So many questions….so few answers…..
In my view (which like everyone else’s is solely MY opinion), as far as most countries are concerned, traditional values are TOTALLY personal and individual according to each person’s upbringing, religious beliefs (if any), personal prejudice, self-interest and (often rose-tinted) recall of or belief about the relatively recent past. In fact, except for each of us as a minority of one, they really don’t exist.
As a political, or pseudo political, ideology, that’s something entirely different, but those “traditional values” usually refer to what are often outdated and impractical principles in our modern world, but which the often downright evil power-crazed need to hang on to in order to maintain their grip on the country – for instance in places like Iran, or North Korea, which is why I said “in most countries”!
The other use of the term “traditional values” CAN frequently be an attempt to justify personal or group bias, prejudice and even bigotry, particularly to oneself.
Damn! Exactly! It is a slogan to gain votes and nothing else…the only “traditional values” that I see by reading the documents is….Liberty….Justice and Equality….other than those nothing is traditional….,but like you have said….a personal thingy…open to bias and emotions….
Just I thought! This is NOTHING but a slogan….why? It seems that no one knows how answer the questions…therefore there is No validity…..
Of course it’s a slogan – we live in the age of sound bite everything!
If you really insist, I’ll give you a traditional value that has long been generally out of favour with most… I’m not in the least religious as you know, but “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” has always seemed like a pretty reasonable way to live to me – until the other guy clearly doesn’t see it like that, at least.
Yes…I was hoping for some of the others to come up with what is the values I speak of….I agree with you…..as I have said my idea is Liberty, Justice and Equality….old fashion I know but there it is….
But if the people are passionate about these values….one would think they would want to let us all in on the big secret….just a thought….
Now you’re trying to apply logic to human behaviour – not a very sensible idea 😆
What are “traditional values”?
When I hear that term, I think of things like marriage (the so-called “nuclear” family), men actually taking responsibility for their actions (like fathering children out-of-wedlock), women practicing modesty and chastity, children (born and not-yet-born) being cherished and protected, people working for what they have rather than trying to take from others to get what they want…
That sort of stuff.
I see and understand…..the term is su7bjective….and I am NOT sure that when it is used in some political setting that they would be talking about the same things….it is political slogan that people will gravitate to but do not know the users intention or definition…
I am doing a whole series of posts on these types of statements….most likely every tuesday….
I guess it really depends on who is using the term and what sort of values they hold, but typically it refers to values held by mainstream Americans 60 years ago.
Okay, I will go with that….but (there is always a but) are these the same values held by the younger generation? And you are right it depends on who is making the statement….unless your are a politician and it will depend on what gets you the most votes….
Do I qualify as the “younger generation”?
You might be surprised, but teenagers are increasingly anti-abortion nowadays.
It must be a regional thingy….even in Mississippi the attitudes toward abortion and gays is changing and teenagers are leading the way……now I do live in an area that is not quite as country as the rest of the state…but here it is not an issue….