Trust Me, Guys. Civic Education Matters More Now Than Ever.

A Bad Case of Deja Vu

If I had to distill the first week of the Trump Administration down into one word, that word would be overwhelming.

Considering all the executive orders, questionable confirmation hearings, lost jobs and research funding, deportation raids, and attempts to kill DEI programs, it's completely understandable for anyone watching season 2 of Make America Great Again: The Reality Presidency to feel overwhelmed. I mean, this was just week one. What's in store for the next episode?

The most important thing to remember at a time like this is that America is strong enough to weather any storm. In fact, we've even weathered this particular storm before. It's like America is experiencing a bad case of deja vu. Eight years ago, we were all just as stunned and disoriented by the actions of the first Trump Administration. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember just how overwhelming things felt back then, so I've decided to share a personal story with you that I wrote for my old Citizenship 101 blog on March 30, 2018:

"Last Summer, when I decided to return to teaching after five years, I wrote a Facebook post that said teaching Political Science at this particular time—in the charged, divisive political climate after the 2016 election—would be “the most important thing I have ever done.” I still feel this way; perhaps NOW MORE THAN EVER.

This week, my students at the College of Charleston are on Spring Break. In our last class meeting, we discussed the presidential line of succession as we finished up our chapter on the American Presidency. I explained that there is an established line of succession that dictates who will be next in line if anything happens to the President, and I wrote the first ten positions, along with their current office holders, on the board. First is obviously the Vice President, Mike Pence. However, if something were to happen to him, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, would be the next to take over. He would be followed by Orrin Hatch, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate ...

Up until this point, class was going smoothly. I got to class a little early to begin writing my lecture notes on the board, as usual, so the lesson would move along quickly. However, when we got to the fourth position in the Presidential line of succession, the Secretary of State, my carefully planned lecture veered off the tracks.

It started with a low murmuring around the room. Then more students than usual began discreetly checking their phones. Finally, one of the students interrupted me, “Professor Matheny,” he said as he pointed to the board, “that’s not right. Rex Tillerson isn’t the Secretary of State anymore. Trump fired him.”

My first reaction was to tell the student he was mistaken. You have to understand, I literally listen to the news every night as I fall asleep, every morning in the car while I’m on my way to work, and even through my headphones as I walk around campus. There's no way I could have missed something as important as Trump firing the Secretary of State! I assured the young map that he was misinformed and tried to move on with my lecture.

The problem was that more and more students began receiving notifications about the firing as breaking news alerts on their phones. When I finally got one, I realized that it WAS true. Somehow, between the time I walked into my classroom, took out my headphones, and started writing my lecture notes on the board, the President of the United States had fired the nation’s Secretary of State and replaced him with the current CIA Director. The Undersecretary of State also got the axe. Within forty-eight hours, the Deputy FBI Director had been fired as well. A few days later, it was the National Security Advisor. Keep in mind that this all came less than two weeks after the Director of the National Economic Council, the Communications Director, and her Deputy had all also been fired. Talk about cleaning house!"

We are all living through a time of unprecedented political instability in the United States of America. I know the word unprecedented has been thrown around so much at this point that it has lost most of its meaning, but think about it: I am literally having trouble teaching my Political Science students about the presidential line of succession because the President is firing officials so fast that we can’t keep up with the name changes. I will have to change my final exam this semester so that it no longer requires them to memorize the names of the top ten current office holders in the line of succession."

As destabilizing as all of this felt back then, we managed to get through it. That's what I mean when I say America is strong enough to weather any storm. The problem is, we didn't learn from our mistakes the first time around. 

Why Civic Education Still Matters

America needs to improve its educational system and require students to take civics classes every year at every grade level, but we don't have time to wait for that happen.

Based on the first term, I think we should expect quite a bit of political instability over the next four years. We should expect Trump to flood the zone with executive orders and questionable actions that will be litigated and revised until they can be pushed through. We should also expect constant personnel changes as he discards any officials unwilling to meet his demands. 

Nearly every day will bring new political developments that the American people need to understand:

• We need to understand the limits of executive power that are defined in the Constitution. 
•  We need to understand how laws are passed.
• We need to understand our government’s separation of powers and its system of checks and balances.
• We need to know the roles that Congress, various foreign leaders, and business executives are playing in President Trump’s agenda.
• Most importantly, we need to understand how the lives of real people will be affected by these actions.

Suddenly, the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons and all of that stuff you memorized for a test and then quickly forgot about years ago has become CRITICAL. We all need to understand what President Trump is doing in order to be able to hold him and his Administration accountable for these actions.

In an era of increasing political polarization and misinformation, civic education is our guiding light. Without it, how can we expect Americans to separate legitimate political information from misinformation? It comes down to trust. Without the background and context that civic education provides, people tend to stick to what they know. They consider whatever the people they trust (their political party) says to be good, and whatever everyone else says to be bad. Each party retreats into an echo chamber of its own making and becomes increasingly hostile to dissenting voices.

Believe it or not, there IS a way out. Voter participation research shows that Americans with higher levels of civic knowledge are more likely to trust democracy and embrace the democratic system. This makes perfect sense to me. Why would anyone trust a government that they don't understand?

Of course, this also works in reverse. Studies show that low civic knowledge levels make Americans less likely to participate in politics. 

The truth is, when voters stop participating in democracy, society eventually breaks down.

Everyone says they want honest politicians who are committed to the common good, but in order to find candidates like that, we have to create an informed electorate to vote them into office and hold them accountable once they get there.

As long as uninformed voters insist on choosing politicians based on who they would rather have a beer with, the serious candidates won’t win. We’ll be left with self-serving, greedy politicians willing to say whatever is necessary to get elected. They do nothing in office but make themselves richer, leaving their voters frustrated, angry, and dangerously close to losing faith in the entire democratic system. I believe civic education is the key to breaking this cycle.

Where Do We Go From Here?

When I was in high school, I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a documentary called Where Do We Go From Here? alongside a handful of other students, educators, artists, and community leaders. Our ragtag group of all ages, races, and backgrounds traveled around the South together on a bus visiting key locations from the Civil Rights Movement and filming discussions with members of the local communities about race relations. It was truly an unforgettable experience!

I hadn't thought about that experience in years until January 20th turned out to be Inauguration Day and MLK Day.  It reminded me of all of the ordinary people who were able to accomplish extraordinary things by joining together and standing up for what they believed in. The people I met on that journey were inspiring. Remembering their stories has helped to stiffen my spine as I prepare for the challenging years ahead.  

The existential question remains: "Where do we, as Americans, go from here?"

Civics For All is more than just a slogan to me. I truly believe that providing every American with an engaging, high-quality civic education is the best path toward a brighter future. I just need all of you to start believing it as well.

I've been spending some time on BlueSky, and I can tell you, the anxiety is palpable. Many of y'all seem to think that America's problems are way bigger than civic education can fix. Some of you are throwing up your hands as if democracy is already lost. Some think Americans are too far down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole to learn anything new. Some are angry with everyone who didn't vote for Harris and are no longer interested in trying to help them. A lot of you are day drinking. (No judgement, just reporting what I'm seeing.)

If your family, friends, colleagues, or members of your community have already been affected by the actions of this Administration, I feel for you. You understand more than any of us that this is no longer just an ideological debate. Real people's lives are being impacted by each decision.

Regardless of who you voted for (or whether you voted at all), we should all be able to agree on the importance of civic education. It's the most valuable tool the American people have for learning how to hold politicians accountable for their actions. 

Join the Civics for All community! We'll discuss the best path for moving America forward in future posts. Leave a comment below or Follow Civics 4 All on Bluesky. Let's continue the conversation!