School of Nations

Pop Quiz: Pick a nation, any nation. What’s one thing they all have in common? (I mean, other than bugs. I hate bugs.)

Yes, you over on the left, wearing the green scarf and Groucho Marx nose-glasses. Yes, you. Hey, excellent guess!

Yessir, you get a herd of folks together of any respectable size (er, that’s the number of people, not their, um, gravitational quotient, if you get my meanin’), and like it or not, people bein’ people and all, well, you’re gonna need some way to maintain order and avoid chaos, right?

You know what that means, right? Yep; that means you’ll need a (sound of drumroll) government!

OK, you may or may not know that next Tuesday, November 4, is officially Election Day here in the United States (despite the fact that early voting has been going on for weeks now). Yep; people all over this great land will head out to do their civic duty (uh, you ARE going to vote, right?) and cast their votes for whomsoever they choose.

So, since NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd, we’re kicking off our next What I learned From… groupwrite project, it seemed appropriate to mark this momentous occasion with the topic:

Yep; you read it right! Our topic for November will be: What I Learned From Government

Now, I know what you’re thinkin’. C’mon, admit it. You’re thinkin’ I must be crazy to open the floor up to such a, well, potentially explosive topic, right? Well, lemme just say this about that.

First of all, my mental state has nothing to do with it. I’ve come to accept the fact of my insanity, and I’m OK with it. *Sniff* Second, you’ll note that I did NOT say the topic is politics. I mean, I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid!

Nope, we’re talking about government.

Do you consider government a good thing, or would you prefer anarchy? Something in between, perhaps? Have you always agreed with your government, or do you see room for improvement? Do you even care? Why or why not? What have you learned from the different types of governments across the world?

Etc., etc., etc.

The point is, no matter what nation you live in, the government is something you’ve lived with all your life. So I guarantee you’ve learned a thing or two. All we’re asking you to do is share a lesson you’ve learned (or two) with the rest of us.

So get the writing device of your choice ready, folks, and drop by on Monday, November 3rd – ‘cause I’m tellin’ ya, this one’s gonna be a humdinger!

18 responses so far

18 Responses to “School of Nations”

  1. Joanna Youngon Oct 27th 2008 at 7:25 am

    Oh my goodness. That’s a big one.

    I used to work for the government in Scotland – for about 10 years – and certainly learned a lot from it. Not that they’re things I necessarily want to recall, or share with an unsuspecting public.

    Better put my thinking hat on!

    Joanna Youngs last blog post..Captivating Words: Results from My Ideal Writing Weekend Competition

  2. Brad Shorron Oct 27th 2008 at 8:29 am

    Robert, I cast my vote in favor of this topic.

  3. Karin H.on Oct 27th 2008 at 11:04 am

    Hmm, learned a lot about government from a Science Fiction book. I smell a ‘post’ – if I find the correct English title of the book – read it when I was still ‘young’ and living in The Netherlands – which has of course a much different government than the US of A or the UK – but I won’t go there ;-)

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

    Karin H.s last blog post..New online home-study program launched

  4. Robert Hruzekon Oct 27th 2008 at 3:48 pm

    @Joanna – Yes, it is a big subject! Lots of good material there, though. Of course, you can also talk about someone else’s government if you like. Just, er, pay no attention to that unmarked van down the street… :-D

  5. Robert Hruzekon Oct 27th 2008 at 3:49 pm

    @Brad – Well, at least you’ve done your civic duty!

  6. Robert Hruzekon Oct 27th 2008 at 3:50 pm

    @Karin H. – From a sci-fi book? Oh, this I have to see!

  7. Karen Swimon Oct 27th 2008 at 8:22 pm

    Hi Robert! Wow, this is a good one. So many interesting possibilities. I will officially be writing my novel in a month for NaNo so who knows what my mind will conjure up. This will be fun! ;-)

    Karen Swims last blog post..Write a Novel in Six Months … or Thirty Days

  8. Robert Hruzekon Oct 28th 2008 at 5:30 am

    Going for NaNo this year, Karen? Good for you! Wish I had the spare time to try it.

  9. Jackie Cameronon Oct 28th 2008 at 7:29 am

    Well as they say here in these parts – help ma boab! What a topic – and all credit to you for jumping on that just when the world’s collective eyes are on what happens Stateside next week.

    Like Joanna I also worked for the Government here for a while ( actually there is a big debate on at the moment about with the number of civic and public servants in the UK and related costs)….I might share some of that.

    OK – where did I put that thinking cap?

    Jackie Camerons last blog post..Time to care about your workmates

  10. Karen Putzon Oct 28th 2008 at 9:04 am

    Oh, oh, oh! You hurt my eyes with this post! My head’s already pounding!

  11. Robert Hruzekon Oct 28th 2008 at 8:07 pm

    @Jackie – Yeah, I sorta got a wild hair on this one, for sure. Seemed pretty appropriate, though, so I said to myself, “Self, ya gotta go for it!” (Sometimes my self is pretty outspoken, if you get my meanin’.

    I’m lookin’ forward to seeing the results, aren’t you?

  12. Robert Hruzekon Oct 28th 2008 at 8:08 pm

    @Karen P. – Well, as long as it didn’t hurt the brain, Karen; I wouldn’t want to be responsible for THAT!

    Can’t wait to see your entry, though!

  13. Maarten Lemmerson Oct 29th 2008 at 2:27 am

    Sounds like a great topic! And such a diversity of possibilities… I have a feeling this post will be more about what I have to leave out then what I choose to leave in!

    Maarten Lemmerss last blog post..Dump opa en oma voor €3,- p.u.

  14. Robert Hruzekon Oct 29th 2008 at 5:44 am

    Maarten, I don’t think there’s going to be a shortage of things to say on this one. Looking forward to reading yours!

  15. Wilson Ponon Oct 29th 2008 at 5:47 am

    Oh, it seems Robert would like to have something new here, and I can’t wait to see all those new entries about “What I learned from Government”…

    It must be a very interesting and controversial topics here ;)

  16. Robert Hruzekon Oct 29th 2008 at 11:43 am

    Wilson, all we need is YOUR contribution! Why not join us?

  17. Middle Zone Musings » Coming on Mondayon Nov 1st 2008 at 6:00 am

    [...] topic this time is “Government”, so click here and read my post, School of Nations, for a brief outline of the [...]

  18. [...] head over to Robert’s blog for all the details . Here’s my distillation of his [...]

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