Decision Making in a Representative Democracy
As part of a larger discussion about the roles and power of Congress, I wanted to discuss how the military industrial complex impacts decision making in Washington and how it impacts a representative democracy.
To start the lesson I presented the essential question:
What is the military industrial complex and how
does it impact a representative democracy?
I asked the class to analyze a political cartoon that concerned the military industrial complex at first as a whole class and then in groups. I didn't want to define the military-industrial complex for them; I wanted them to make predictions and put the pieces together. In fact, I wanted them to be unsure so that as the lesson continued they would pay closer attention so they could figure out what exactly the military-industrial complex is.
Here are the two cartoons we analyzed:
Next students read Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address to the nation in which he warns against the growing influence of the military-industrial complex. As they read in groups I asked them to focus on his warning and why it was a problem.
After our cupcake break I think we all got a bit more excited about the military industrial complex (myself included):
If you'd like to check out the film here is the link:
After analyzing cartoons, reading Eisenhower's speech, watching clips from "Why We Fight," and discussing with the class, the students worked with a partner to create a movie poster/advertisement about the military-industrial complex. They had to come up with a movie title, descriptive language/reviews of the film, and use four facts about the military-industrial complex. They came up with really creative posters and titles.
Here are some:
(Get it, the "MIC"??)
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