Trump Earns a Dunce Cap in North Carolina.

Posted on | June 11, 2023 | 4 Comments

Mike Magee MD

Events over the past year clearly have confirmed that we are a “work in progress” even as we stubbornly affirm our good intentions to create a society committed to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

With the Dobbs’ decision, our Supreme Court has unleashed long-abandoned regressive state laws designed to reinforce selective patriarchy and undermine the stability and confidence of America’s women and families. As a result, our nation’s health professionals, and the patients they care for, potentially find themselves “on the wrong side of the law.”

It calls to mind the well-worn phrase of mothers everywhere to their bossy children, “Who died and left you boss?”

Since our former President, on the eve of his latest indictment, decided to deliver a message to North Carolina Republican supporters this past weekend, claiming that he was engaged in the “final battle” with “corrupt” forces, most especially the “Deep State” that was “out to get him,” I decided to fact check his claims with the kids of North Carolina.

North Carolina’s K-12 lesson plan, titled “The Rule of Law,” begins with the Teddy Roosevelt quote, “No man is above the law, and no man is below it” from his 1903 State of the Union address.

In the very first paragraph, the plan affirms that law is fundamental to societal health stating:

“Every day, we are touched by rules and laws. They pervade every aspect of our lives, from traveling on the road to shopping at the mall. In this lesson, students will explore the rule of law in American democracy and its impact on every individual. Through class discussion and role play, students will gain an understanding of:

what the rule of law means in terms of American government,
the functions laws play in our society, and
the role all citizens and community members, from a student to the President, play in adhering to and upholding the rule of law.”

The plan cues up questions that students will need to address, including:

“From when and where does our system of law originate?”
“What functions do laws serve in our society?”
“What role does our government’s separation of powers play in ensuring adherence to the rule of law?”
“Why is an independent judiciary fundamental to the rule of law?”
“How might our society be different if we had no laws?”

A bit further on, students are informed that:

“The rule of law is basically an agreement that everyone will play by the rules. This allows us to enjoy a more peaceful and safe existence. The rule of law also ensures the protection of certain rights for each of us. Ideally, the rule of law applies equally to everyone, meaning you are treated fairly and equally, under the same set of rules, regardless of who you are.”

The curricular plan then explores laws themselves helping students to uncover these insights:

“How do laws affect each of us? What functions do laws serve in our society? Ensure students discuss the following functions of laws:

1.“Laws serve as standards of conduct and dictate the ways people should behave and what activities are permitted or prohibited under certain conditions (e.g., drinking under age, driving, speeding, etc.)
2. Laws maintain order, ensure predictability, and provide security (e.g., they require that people drive on a certain side of the road; they require that people pay for services rendered.)
3. Many laws in America grant and protect particular individual rights and freedoms, ensure equality, and advocate for the common good.
4. Laws also guarantee certain benefits to citizens (e.g., schools, health services, etc.)
5. Laws assign responsibilities to citizens (e.g., paying taxes.)
6. Laws define what duties the government will perform and can also limit the power of governmental officials.
7. Laws can facilitate different forms of change (e.g., toxic waste disposal, anti-discrimination, prohibition of spousal abuse, etc.)
8. Laws are used to manage different forms of conflict, relying on courts, lawyers, and judges for such.
9. In summary, laws serve many different purposes. Ideally, laws should be well designed to ensure justice; they should be designed so that the average citizen can interpret, understand, and thus follow them.”

Finally there is a homework assignment. Students are provided with a copy of chapter 28 in Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s “The Majesty of the Law,” to read.

In follow-up, the teacher is instructed to ask students: “When Justice O’Connor writes, ‘A nation’s success or failure in achieving democracy is judged in part by how well it responds to those at the bottom and the margins of the social order,’ what message was she conveying and how does it relate to the rule of law?”

Comments

4 Responses to “Trump Earns a Dunce Cap in North Carolina.”

Walter Woodward
June 12th, 2023 @ 9:38 am

This is a strange post for a health care blog, and it ignores certain (unmentioned) fundamentals to take a weakly argued click-bait shot-by-irrelevant headline at a seriously flawed political figure you must hate. First, Dobbs did not end reproductive rights, it gave decisions about those rights back to individual states. Second, how you can talk about the rule of law without mentioning the patently obvious selective enforcement of those laws is beyond me. Americans who truly care about the future of this country MUST set aside this kind of hyperbolic cant, and start digging fairly and with an even hand into therealities of the flawed execution of politics and government that threatens us all.
Dan Ostergaard
June 12th, 2023 @ 12:57 pm

Thanks Mike! I always appreciate your posts on health of people and the health system but this one on the health of democracy is outstanding! Plus Civics suggests incessant lying about democracy is not good for it!
Dan Ostergaard
Mike Magee
June 12th, 2023 @ 3:19 pm

Thanks, Dan. As always, your opinion means a great deal to me. It was reassuring to see that our K-12 teachers are doing their jobs and more! There is hope in that. Best, Mike
Mike Magee
June 12th, 2023 @ 3:52 pm

Dr. Woodward-
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I’m honored to have our Connecticut State Historian take the time to address this issue. First, let me say, that my work analyzing the evolution of the patient-physician relationship in Germany, South Africa, U.S., U.K, Canada and Japan in 2000 for the World Medical Association helped establish a range of linkages between the delivery of health services and achieving healthy democracies in these nations. Second, your suggestion that I “hate” Trump is inaccurate. Third, nowhere do I state that the Dobbs decision “end(ed) reproductive rights.” What I wrote accurately is that it “unleashed long-abandoned regressive state laws.” The actions of conservative controlled state legislatures went even further (as in the case of a 10-year old Ohio state rape victim forced to flee to neighboring Indiana for abortion care), and suggests my analysis was too generous rather than too severe. Finally, we have Trump and his supporters to thank for providing a “stress test” for our democracy. I will trust Jack Smith and our Justice Department to execute the complex terrain that bridges “politics and government.” Best, Mike