Sustaining a Free Society

It is difficult to create a free society but even more difficult to sustain that free society over time. We want to sustain the esssential elements of a free society, but at the same time, we must recognize that the world is always changing. How, then, to adjust to changes and to improve what we have, without loosing sight of core values, is our focus in Sustaining A Free Society.The book first outlines in practical real-world terms fifteen conditions that must be in place to sustain a free society. One critical condition given extended consideration is the need for a long-term time perspective. Conditions do not exist in the abstract: they are created by people and the choices we make. Thus we need to consider the roles and responsibilities of those involved in a free a society: citizens and those they choose as leaders. We are not born knowing our responsibilities as citizens and leaders: these matters have to be learned. Sustaining a Free Society moves to a consideration of the role schools must play in ensuring that future generations know and value a free society and are prepared to in turn assume their responsibilities.

A master teacher here reaches out beyond the classroom to the broader public. Writing plainly and clearly he makes the case for an enlarged understanding of the conditions that make it possible to create and sustain a self-governing people. And then, best of all, drawing on his own understanding and long experience, he shows how those who yearn not to be led by the nose can recover, deserve, and sustain their status as thoughtful citizens. No lessons could be more timely.

Roger Soder, Professor Emeritus of Education, University of Washington, has worked for many years with community advocacy organizations and K-12 schools on equity and access issues in addition to his teaching, research, and writing on the interconnected issues of leadership, rhetoric, democracy, schools, and teacher education. He is the author of The Language of Leadership, editor of Democracy, Education, and the Schools, and co-editor of Developing Democratic Character in the Young.