Debating Our Rights: The Pressures on Citizenship in a Constitutional Democracy with Meg Mott

Debating Our Rights: The Pressures on Citizenship in a Constitutional Democracy with Meg Mott at Putney Library

Democracies thrive on disagreement. By weighing and considering a variety of possibilities, the people will make better informed decisions. In the United States, most of our political debates invoke constitutional language, with each side claiming to represent the more lawful approach to the problem. The way these constitutional debates are framed tell us something important about our underlying political values and where we disagree. Join Meg Mott, Professor of Politics at Marlboro College, for an exciting discussion series about civil liberties in today’s political climate at Putney Public Library.

This series will look at three civil rights debates in order to better understand the character of contemporary American democracy. How do the various sides frame the issue? What underlying political philosophy is being invoked? What does a democracy lose when these important questions are no longer matters of debate?

Our first event will be Wednesday, June 28 at 7pm: Should harmful speech be silenced? Campus protesters at Middlebury College claim that the First Amendment only serves the powerful at the expense of the powerless. Republican undergraduates say protestors are violating their rights. What does this debate tell us about the future of substantive disagreement in American politics? Marlboro students Fiona Craig and Zoe deHart will join Meg Mott, Putney’s Town Meeting Moderator and Professor of Politics at Marlboro College for this first event.

Putney Public Library is located at 55 Main St in Putney, VT. This event is free and open to the public.