AUTHOR: David Hutchinson, President of Constitution Day Centre Inc.
AGENCY: Constitution Day Centre, Inc.
ARTICLE:
It was 237 years ago this month that our nation's founders signed the U.S. Constitution. It remains the practical framework for how our democracy functions - for which we should be thankful. But the leaders of that era could not have anticipated everything, and they knew that important issues were being left for future generations to resolve.
Constitution Day officially is Sept. 17. Did you know that what we are celebrating is actually "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day?" It was 158 years ago that Abraham Lincoln spoke of a government "by the people." But to what extent is this actually true? Far too many of us feel their voices aren't being heard; few believe they could have an active role in setting the direction for our country.
Join us for this year's Constitution Day celebration, “Making Our Voices Heard,” on Saturday, Sept. 14th. (A non-football Saturday!) In our small way, our local event is an attempt to begin to fix that perception of not being heard. As we did last year, we will be holding deliberative roundtables around an issue of importance to our democracy. (In previous years we have deliberated on the purpose of public education, and the structure of our democracy.)
This year's deliberation will wrestle with questions surrounding the issue of immigration. (We are not afraid of controversy!) Whom do we welcome? Can we balance fairness and security? How do we strengthen our common bonds? Our conversations will be framed around these three questions, but you are encouraged to bring your own ideas.
This will not be a debate. While debates can serve a useful purpose, the structure of a debate assumes that all the wisdom is in the front of the room. This will be a deliberative conversation, with the assistance of trained moderators who will help us to stay on track, but more importantly, will work to ensure that every voice is heard. That is why your participation is important.
While the result of our deliberations will be shared with both the community and our elected officials, you might legitimately ask, "what difference will this make?"
My answer: if nothing else, we need the practice of having civil conversations - and to demonstrate that such conversations are possible - and potentially productive. If we are to fulfill Lincoln's vision of a "government by the people," we need to exercise our citizenship skills. My hope is that you are willing to invest a few hours of your time in support of practical democracy.
REMINDER: Constitution Day Democracy Roundtables, from 11 am to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14th, followed by the Madison Award for Civility in the Community, at the American Legion Post 245, 1950 Pine Hall Road, State College. Email register: info@constitutiondaycentre.org
David is a former school board member and current host of the Discomfort Zone (sites.psu.edu/hutch153), Thursday mornings on TheLion.fm.
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