In front of a crowd of about 500 people, Oscar-winning actor turned activist Richard Dreyfuss spoke about his passion for civics education in a talk titled “The 800-Pound Gorilla We Are All Refusing to See.” The event, held at NSU on Oct. 26, was part of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Speakers Series.
“Not teaching civics is an act of national suicide,” Dreyfuss said. During his talk, which was followed by a Q&A session with audience members, Dreyfuss urged citizens to remember and relearn that “we run our government” and that “we are the sovereign.” Dreyfuss said that it’s our responsibility to restore the principles America was founded on and to teach these ideas to current and future generations of students, citing that only about three percent of today’s public schools in America offer classes in civics.
The activist also offered a “cost-free curriculum” that includes teaching our students reason, logic, clarity of thought, and critical analysis. Dreyfuss added that we must also teach civility. “Civility is the oxygen that democracies require, or else they strangle and die … as this one will,” he said.
Dreyfuss encouraged audience members to discover ways they can become involved in the process of teaching civics, though he cautioned that the process will never end.
“The solution must start here,” Dreyfuss said, closing his lecture. “Why? Why not?”
Prior to his talk, Dreyfuss spent the afternoon meeting with undergraduate students, Honors students, and faculty members and administrators from the college.
In the days leading up to the Distinguished Speakers Series lecture, the college’s academic divisions hosted companion events exploring the ideas discussed by Dreyfuss. On Oct. 24, the Division of Math, Science, and Technology hosted a faculty panel titled “Science and Technology in Society.” On Oct. 25, faculty members from the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences debated “On the Necessity of Government.”
Visit the college’s Photo Gallery to view pictures from the Distinguished Speakers Series events featuring Richard Dreyfuss.