BOOK CLUBS
Would you like to join fellow OLLI members monthly to read and discuss books of your choosing? If so, one new Book Club has openings:
• Book Club #5 will meet monthly the third Friday of each month at First Presbyterian Church, 840 South 17th Street.
• Book club #6 can organize with a core of several interested people.
Book clubs are open to all OLLI members.
If you are interested, please send your name, phone number, and email address to Kay Rockwell at krockwell1@unl.edu.
POLITICS INTEREST GROUP
The August meeting of the OLLI Politics Interest Group will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17 at Stauffer's Café and Pie Shoppe, 5600 S. 48th Street. Marvin Almy will be moderating a discussion of the role of the press in politics.
The Constitution of the United States – Amendment I
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievance.”
What are the right and responsibilities of a free press in America’s democracy?
What are the responsibilities of a free citizen to inform themselves of the issues?
Ben Sasse, “The Vanishing American Adult,” pg. 208
“Among the responsibilities of each citizen in a participatory democracy is keeping ourselves sufficiently informed so that we can participate effectively, argue our positions honorably, and, hopefully, forge sufficient consensus to understand each other and then to govern. To this end, our critical facilities must be in top condition – the ability not just to evaluate sources, weigh evidence, and check facts, but also to understand motivations, resolve apparent contradictions, cut through ambiguities, and maybe even discover truths.”
Where do you turn to for news – say when the President fires the FBI Director – what sources do you turn to?
• Newspapers
• Television and/or radio
• Social media
• News magazines
• Internet news sites and blogs
The use of “unnamed sources”
The rise of Fact Checking
Lincoln Journal Star editorial of August 2, 2017:
http://journalstar.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-free-press-keeps-democracies-from-becoming-dictatorships/article_4483313f-0488-52e9-8040-7edd2e4a4ffb.html
Questions? Contact Marvin Almy, (402) 786-5856, hmalmy@aol.com
WANT TO FORM AN INTEREST GROUP?
If you would like to form a new interest group, contact Joe Seewald, wseewald@aol.com, 402-486-1428.