Freedom Blocked at the “Freedom 250” Grand Prix

The Indy Car Series event, held on August 23, 2026 in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by delegates from the British colonies then officially in rebellion, ironically gave people visiting or living in the federal capitol a visceral experience of freedom blocked by governmental police and military authority. For not only the Mall, but also the entire route of the race was blocked by military and local police during the race such that public viewing was blocked. Entire city blocks separated the route from where tourists and local residents alike could drive and walk. Whether the federal government excessively pushed security at the expense of Americans being able to view the race without the luck of a lottery draw in advance for a ticket to be able to see the race at the Mall (roughly, between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument) is one question; the irony of being in such a visual, even overwhelming, militaristic police-city during a celebration of political freedom is more definite.

The full essay is at "Freedom 250."

Same-Sex Marriage in the States of Washington and Britain

Reporting on the objections of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church to David Cameron’s “contentious plan to legalize same-sex marriage” in the E.U. state of Britain, the New York Times unwittingly followed the European tendency to compare a state in the E.U. with the entire U.S. rather than to a state therein. “In some ways,” the Times contended, the debate in the E.U. state “mirrors arguments in the United States swirling around President Obama’s support for same-sex marriage.” Actually, Obama’s support was not at the time very relevant even in the U.S., as the “action” was occurring in particular states (as in the case of the E.U.).

 

On the of the Times’ report, the Huffington Post reported that the U.S. state of Washington would have a referendum on gay marriage on the ballot in November, 2012. In total, 247,331 Washingtonians signed the petition, passing the minimum of 120,577 needed. Gov. Chris Gregoire, David Cameron’s counterpart, had signed a bill into law the previous February legalizing same-sex marriage. Essentially, the referendum moved the matter from representative to direct democracy. Were a “one-size-fits-all” decision to be reached for the entire U.S., justices rather than an electorate would be the decision-makers. While possibly giving the rights of a minority a “leg up” on majority rule, moving the issue from the people of Washington to apply one decision on the U.S. as a whole was not a given at the time.

Therefore, to relate the thrashing out going on at the time in Britain (and France) to Obama’s campaign stance on the issue rather than to what was going on in the American republics evinces something more than just a category mistake (i.e., treating a state in the E.U. as equivalent to the entire U.S. rather than to a state therein). The dynamic at the level of the E.U. and U.S. is different than that which occurs in a state. Democracy being relatively fort (strong) at the state-level, the juridical protection of the rights of the individual may paradoxically be stronger at the empire-level. Iowa is a notable counter-example, however, on account of the action of the Iowa Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage. Perhaps it could be said that majority rule is stronger at the state level and thus more in balance with judicial decision. If so, the E.U. principle of subsidiarity and the U.S. principle of residual sovereignty (marriage being in the realm of the states’ sovereignty though equal protection being a relevant U.S.-level juridical principle) should not be relegated in a race to a central state at the empire-level. At the same time, the U.S. and E.U. need enough power to maintain themselves. Treating a state in the E.U. as if it were equivalent to the entire U.S. (i.e., essentially another E.U. within the E.U.) distorts or ignores these dynamics of federalism.

Sources:

Alan Cowell, “ChurchesChallenge British Government Over Same-Sex Marriage,” The New York Times, June 12, 2012. 

Chris Gentiviso, “Referendum 74, Washington State Anti-GayMarriage Measure, Qualifies for Ballot,” The Huffington Post, June 12, 2012. 

Assessing a “Funded Right” to Education as Constitutional in the U.S.

According to the Texas constitution, the government must provide funds for a “general diffusion of knowledge.” This is a worthy purpose in a representative democracy, as an educated electorate is generally presumed better able to self-govern by voting for candidates and even on policy-oriented referendums. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had their differences to be sure, but they both believed that an educated and virtuous citizenry is vital to a republic. Accordingly, the “Texas constitution imposes an affirmative obligation to provide adequate financial resources for education, whatever the economic cycle,” according to Mark Trachtenberg, an attorney who represents more than seventy school districts that sued the government of Texas.[1] Altogether, four funding suits were pending in Texas as of January 2012. Five hundred districts, which together educate more than half of all public school students in Texas, were involved in those suits at the time. In 2010, the Texas legislature had cut more than $5 billion from school district budgets. In the wake of the cuts, the districts claimed that they lacked the resources to provide the level of education required by the constitution. One major question is whether the courts are the proper venue for this matter.

The full essay is at "Assessing a 'Funded Right'."

1. Nathan Koppel, “Schools Sue States For More Money,” The Wall Street Journal, January 7-8, 2012.