What is a Dialogue on Freedom?
A Dialogue on Freedom is a carefully planned discussion with high school students in their classroom organized and facilitated by lawyers and judges. The purpose of the dialogue is to explore American civic values and traditions.
Dialogues can be structured around the hypotheticals featured
below, which ask students to defend American culture and values
during encounters with residents of Quest, an imaginary nation.
For more topics, see the dialogue "starters" provided in Additional
Resources: Continuing the Dialogue.
Hypotheticals
The Nation of Quest (an imaginary place) is a poor country. Many of the people
are not employed, and those who do have jobs often earn $2 a day
or less. Quest has a written constitution, but its promises are
not carried out in practice. The country has elections which are
not really competitive and are often corrupt. The leadership consists
of an old guard, which rules with the half-hearted support of
the military. Corruption is pervasive throughout government and
the economy.
Drummer, a man in his early 30's, lives in Quest. He is a charismatic speaker
and preaches hatred of the United States and the necessity to
destroy American power and influence. There is a religious component
to Drummer's doctrine, and he proclaims that the United States
is evil. The government often arrests its opponents, but it is
reluctant to detain Drummer or be too hard on him because of his
popularity, particularly among the poor.
You start out on a trip to a popular tourist destination, but your plane has
engine trouble. You make an unscheduled landing in Quest and find
that you must remain there for three days while the repairs are
completed. During the time you stay in Quest, you have the following
encounters.
I
You meet a young woman named W. W tells you that what is wrong
with Quest and many other less-developed countries is the influence
of American culture. She says American culture is decadent, that
it has led to the corruption of life in the West, and that it
ought not to spread to Quest. W thinks Quest should follow some
sort of movement which resists American culture.
What do you tell her?
II
W tells you that she admires Drummer's teachings. W says the people
should install someone like Drummer as the leader of the government
and give him close to absolute authority. She knows Drummer wants
a society controlled by men and that she would have a subordinate
role, but she thinks women should accept that position until things
improve. She tells you Drummer and his followers can be trusted
to bring about a better living and a better society for all the
citizens of Quest and that, at least for now, democracy is not
worth pursuing.
What do you tell her?
III
You take a ride around the major city with some friends and end
up in an industrial area. There you meet M, a young man of 14
or 15 years of age. He stands in the bottom of a pit, using a
sledgehammer to pound scrap iron into thinner sheets for transport.
It is hard, laborious work, for which he is paid just $10 a week.
M needs the money to help support his family. He has few prospects
for a different or better job. For all M knows, he might spend
most of his life doing this kind of work at a low wage. His work
day ends, and you introduce yourself. The subject of the terror
attacks in New York and Washington comes up. He remarks "Why
should I care what happens in New York or Washington?"
What is your answer?
IV
If you could leave three books and three movies with W and
M that best capture what America means to you, what would they
be?
V
If you were making a timeline called "Great Events in
Freedom," what events would you include? How far back would
your timeline go?
Note: The views expressed here have not been
approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of
the American Bar Association, and accordingly, should not be construed
as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.
