Audio Philosophy
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Much of the philosophy we encounter or are affected by is "disguised" as something else. This is nowhere more true than in political philosophy and ethics. Thus, I am including on my site a collection of recordings of great speeches, debates, and supreme court arguments (with decisions). More to come!!!!!
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| I recommend
installing the Windows Media Player 9 Series. With it, most of these audio
clips will be heard as streaming media. Without it, you are on your own!
Click on the button to download it free!
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Listen to some Great Speeches Martin Luther King Richard Nixon Malcolm X Ellie Wiesel Robert Kennedy William Faukner
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Civics Education: Patriotism or Skepticism? |
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| Overview: After September 11th, President Bush launched a new civics education initiative that sparked an ideological battle in schools and on university campuses over whether the role of educators is to instill patriotism or teach skepticism. Conservative critics charged that left-wing academe "blamed America first." But educators and campus activists claimed they were looking at the attacks in the context of U.S. foreign policy toward the Arab world. Should social studies curricula emphasize the contributions of Western culture or promote a more multicultural, egalitarian vision of the world? |
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Violent Video Games |
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| Overview Murder and mayhem are main attractions to video games like Grand Theft Auto and Doom and have boosted popularity among young audiences. Some child psychologists say prolonged exposure to content that rewards killing and destruction fosters aggressive, anti-social behavior and they have lobbied hard to restrict access. But game makers and civil libertarians say teens are capable of separating reality and fantasy. Ratings boards and regulations, they say, are poor government substitutes for effective parenting and they point to recent studies that even suggest potential benefits to the estimated 70% of American teens who own at least one of these games. |
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Driving While Black: Racial Profiling on America's Highways |
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| Overview In this edition of Justice Talking we take on the incendiary issue of racially motivated traffic stops. In recent years, scores of African Americans and Latinos, including prominent athletes, members of Congress, actors, lawyers, business leaders and even police officers, have experienced the humiliation of being stopped on the nations highways upon suspicion of a crime. Few white motorists can tell the same story. But are these traffic stops and searches legitimate mechanisms to stem the trafficking of drugs or are they discriminatory stops for the crime of what has been called ``Driving While Black.`` |
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Battered Women Who Kill |
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| Overview Over the past few decades, America has become increasingly aware of the prevalence of domestic violence. Millions of women have been in abusive relationships and why they stay is a complicated issue. Some are able to survive and get out of these violent situations, others face serious injury or death. But, in some cases, women fight back, even killing their abuser. Is clemency for battered women an act of compassion or does it send the message that some people can get away with murder? |
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Liberty Lost: Felon Disenfranchisement |
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| Overview During the presidential election last November, the spotlight was on butterfly ballots and the disputed hand recounts in Florida, yet some 500,000 voting age residents had to watch the electoral drama from the sidelines unable to cast a ballot. The reason, at one point or another in their lives, they had been convicted of a felony. Florida is one of a number of states that permanently deny ex-felons their right to vote. But now, the law is being challenged in the state legislature and in the courts. |
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| Under God under Fire: Challenging the Pledge in Schools | ||
| Overview: Millions of school children pledge their allegiance every day. But a recent lawsuit has stirred passionate debate between those who see the pledge as a healthy exercise in patriotism and those who say it is forced prayer. The current legal challenge is over the words, “under God” and whether public schools can require children to recite them. Does forcing students to pledge their allegiance violate principles of religious freedom or, as one Senator argued, is it simply “political correctness run amok?” |
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Classic Supreme Court Arguments
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Subjects: Civil Rights: Affirmative
Action Regents of the University of California v. Bakke 438 U.S. 265 (1978) Argued:October 12, 1977 Decided:June 26, 1978 Facts of the Case: Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times. The school reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action program, in an effort to redress longstanding, unfair minority exclusions from the medical profession. Bakke's qualifications (college GPA and test scores) exceeded those of any of the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were rejected. Bakke contended, first in the California courts, then in the Supreme Court, that he was excluded from admission solely on the basis of race. Question Presented: Did the University of California violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by practicing an affirmative action policy that resulted in the repeated rejection of Bakke's application for admission to its medical school? |
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Subjects: Privacy:
Abortion, Including Contraceptives Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973) Argued: December 13, 1971 Reargued: October 11, 1972 Decided: January 22, 1973 Facts of the Case: Roe, a Texas resident, sought to terminate her pregancy by abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman's life. After granting certiorari, the Court heard arguments twice. The first time, Roe's attorney -- Sarah Weddington -- could not locate the constitutional hook of her argument for Justice Potter Stewart. Her opponent -- Jay Floyd -- misfired from the start. Weddington sharpened her constitutional argument in the second round. Her new opponent -- Robert Flowers -- came under strong questioning from Justices Potter Stewart and Thurgood Marshall. Question Presented: Does the Constitution embrace a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion? |
Sources: www.justicetalking.org;
www.americanrhetoric.com;
www.oyez.com (supreme
court media archives)
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