Competing visions of statesmanship.
Reflection Paper 5: American Exceptionalism
May 21, 2021Understand the colonial origins of American government
May 21, 2021Competing visions of statesmanship.
Reflection Paper Instructions
Reflection offers an opportunity to consider how new ideas, information, experiences, and observations can shape thinking and knowledge. Reflective writing can help improve analytical skills because it requires expression of thought and analysis. Further, reflective analysis seeks to acknowledge or reject that thoughts are shaped by assumptions and preconceived ideas. In this course, we set out to study “the contemporary challenges facing America, the prevailing Western legal tradition, and a Biblical model of statesmanship, particularly as these challenges have influenced policy formation,” including the “modern reinterpretations of American constitutionalism and the shifting relationship of the State to the individual and other spheres in society.”
Write a Reflection Paper providing how your understanding and ideas have been impacted as a result of this class. This is your opportunity to recognize the ideas of others, notice how their assumptions and preconceived ideas may have shaped their thoughts, as well as your own, and perhaps recognize how your ideas support or oppose what you have learned.
Assignment Specifics:
· 6-8 sources cited from the class readings and presentations
· 4-5 double-spaced pages of content, not counting the title page or references
· Turabian Format
Textbook Readings
- Barton: chs. 12–18
- Danoff & Hebert: ch. 15
Overview
Today, all American citizens are witnessing “competing visions of statesmanship.” There seems to be confusion between what it is to be a “Politician” and what it is to be a “Statesman,” however, they are far from being one-in-the-same. In short, a politician works with details while a statesman works with ideas; a politician debates the cost of a plan while a statesmen questions the wisdom of the plan; a politician tells his constituents what he did for them while a statesman doesn’t worry about what he can do for his constituents, because he’s too busy trying to guarantee a future for his constituent’s grandchildren; and a politician follows the crowd—living and dying with a finger in the wind—waiting to declare a position until they determine which course of action is most likely to curry favor while a statesman does not bow to the noise that often passes for opposition; and a politicians projects the image of leadership while a statesman leads.
Please include the following in your response:
- Explain “A Constitutional Paradox”
- Explain “Political Rationality”
- Define “Statesmanship”
- Describe the how government has changed over the decades
