Constitution

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, discusses some keys to a happy and prosperous life with points from his new book "The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America."

When Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke at Harvard’s Commencement in June 1978, he titled his address, “The Exhausted West.” He was talking about a culture—Western culture generally—in moral decay. In doing so, he acknowledged that he had been exiled from his homeland for four years, a land he described as having been in the captivity of Communism for his entire life. The exhaustion of which he spoke is a spiritual one, where the bounteous freedom, well-being, and availability of material goods led those in the West “to an almost unlimited freedom of enjoyment,” resulting in few people willing to “risk one’s precious life in defense of common values” (p. 22). According to him, the West had come to make something more fundamental than the common values that had produced the freedom and bounty of the West: a legal system based on the letter of the law.

John Nagl, headmaster of the Haverford School, argues that teaching the next generation of American thinkers and leaders is just as important as fighting enemies on the fields of battle.

Dr. Stacie Molnar-Main discusses the benefits of teaching children how to participate in democracy. She notes different ways to do so and the responsibility each of us have to civic education in the classroom.

William Damon, professor at Stanford University, explains why education ought to focus more on history and civic education to develop successful citizens.

David Matthews, CEO of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, discusses the Kettering Foundation's research and origin, and examines how people become citizens and make difficult decisions.

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, explains that happiness lies not in material gains, but in finding purpose in what you do.

Matthew Holland, President of Utah Valley University, presents an argument that Christian charity has played a vital role in shaping America's civil society.

Daniel Robinson, fellow at Oxford University, examines methods for successfully educating citizens, and how educational institutions can shape character in ways that render one of value to others. This lecture was read by Dr. Richard Williams during the Civic Virtue, Civic Life conference that was cosponsored by the McKay School of Education and The Wheatley Institute.