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Making the Impossible Possible: Global Citizenship in Morality, Education, and Practice
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Our campuses are producing citizens and this means that we must ask
what a good citizen of the present day should be and should know.
—Martha Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity
And what, finally is man? Is he a tribal being, the captive of a single identity, driven by superstition, prejudice, ethnic and religious loyalties, hatred, nationalism, fear? Or is he a multifaceted citizen of this new global civilization, capable of creating institutions that are democratic, pluralistic, tolerant, embodying values that everyone can espouse without denying or rejecting the more basic aspects of identity?
—Paul Wilson, Forward, The Art of the Impossible
In a democracy, human beings may enjoy many personal freedoms and securities that are unknown to us, but in the end they do them no good, for they too are ultimately victims of the same automatism, and are incapable of defending their concerns about their own identity or preventing their superficialization or transcending concerns about their own personal survival to become proud and responsible members of the polis, making a genuine contribution to the creation of its destiny.
—Vaclav Havel, Living in Truth
In his 1994 speech at Stanford University, Vaclav Havel explained, “Practically the entire
world is now connected by thousands of political and economic bonds and by elaborate communication networks. We are all aware of one another, and we have thousands of
common habits, technologies, modes of behavior, civic forms, and aims…” (1998h: 176). At the heart of Havel’s statement is the fact that the world is becoming more
interconnected. What does this interconnectivity mean? From an economic perspective, globalization provides a new type of integration of markets, technology, and information
that is oblivious to both national and cultural borders. Economically, it is driven by open markets free of trade barriers (Ferraro 2002: 9). Yet, Havel was not merely discussing the
economic and political changes taking place. While the media may focus on how politicians will navigate this difficult terrain, the true responsibility lies in the everyday
citizen. “We” is not a descriptor for the small percentage of society entrusted to make political decisions. Rather, “we” is vast array of individuals whose understanding of
themselves as members of the community inherently shapes what the world will become. At this time of great change, individuals are provided with—and perhaps confronted with
—the task of self-examination: to think about their accomplishments, the meaning and consequences of their endeavors, and to make any necessary changes to their outlook on
the world (Havel 1997: 5).
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| | Authors: McDougall, Heather. |
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Our campuses are producing citizens and this means that we must ask
what a good citizen of the present day should be and should know.
—Martha Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity
And what, finally is man? Is he a tribal being, the captive of a single identity, driven by
superstition, prejudice, ethnic and religious loyalties, hatred, nationalism, fear? Or is he
a multifaceted citizen of this new global civilization, capable of creating institutions that
are democratic, pluralistic, tolerant, embodying values that everyone can espouse
without denying or rejecting the more basic aspects of identity?
—Paul Wilson, Forward, The Art of the Impossible
In a democracy, human beings may enjoy many personal freedoms and securities that
are unknown to us, but in the end they do them no good, for they too are ultimately
victims of the same automatism, and are incapable of defending their concerns about
their own identity or preventing their superficialization or transcending concerns about
their own personal survival to become proud and responsible members of the polis,
making a genuine contribution to the creation of its destiny.
—Vaclav Havel, Living in Truth
In his 1994 speech at Stanford University, Vaclav Havel explained, “Practically the entire
world is now connected by thousands of political and economic bonds and by elaborate
communication networks. We are all aware of one another, and we have thousands of
common habits, technologies, modes of behavior, civic forms, and aims…” (1998h: 176).
At the heart of Havel’s statement is the fact that the world is becoming more
interconnected. What does this interconnectivity mean? From an economic perspective,
globalization provides a new type of integration of markets, technology, and information
that is oblivious to both national and cultural borders. Economically, it is driven by open
markets free of trade barriers (Ferraro 2002: 9). Yet, Havel was not merely discussing the
economic and political changes taking place. While the media may focus on how
politicians will navigate this difficult terrain, the true responsibility lies in the everyday
citizen. “We” is not a descriptor for the small percentage of society entrusted to make
political decisions. Rather, “we” is vast array of individuals whose understanding of
themselves as members of the community inherently shapes what the world will become.
At this time of great change, individuals are provided with—and perhaps confronted with
—the task of self-examination: to think about their accomplishments, the meaning and
consequences of their endeavors, and to make any necessary changes to their outlook on
the world (Havel 1997: 5).
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