Why, exactly, are we a free people?
Published 1:00 pm Thursday, September 30, 2004
The Founding Fathers considered the Constitution required reading; Thomas Jefferson said it was “every American’s right and obligation to read and interpret” it for himself.”
Yet few contemporary Americans have read the very document that forms the bedrock of principles and values upon which the country was built. The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council hopes to spark interest and familiarity with the Constitution with three lectures beginning today.
Seattle University law professor David Engdahl speaks tonight at the Bainbridge library about the making of the Constitution and its underlying philosophy.
“It’s a very revolutionary document if you spend some time with it,” Engdahl said. “It’s not something you fall down and worship. It’s a valuable reference point for day-to-day governance and our daily lives.”
Engdahl said citizens should be intimately familiar with the document, rather than leaving it to politicians, lawyers and judges to dictate how it applies to issues.
“It was designed for ordinary people,” he said. “There’s no Pope with the Constitution, telling you how to see it. You have to be ‘Protestant’ with it. You have to read and interpret it yourself.”
The BIAHC lecture series began in response to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Members organized lectures on Islam to help residents understand some of the issues that dominated the media after the tragedy. The well-received lectures sparked a series on Middle East conflicts and the United Nations.
Kathleen Thorne, BIAHC program director, said now is the perfect time to talk about the Constitution. Thorne said questions about the Electoral College’s role in the 2000 presidential election, detainees in Guantanamo Bay, gay marriage and the president’s ability to wage war are tied to Constitutional principles. The lecture series will take in the scope of these concerns.
Island resident and University of Washington public affairs instructor David Harrison will discuss the Constitution’s balance of powers in the second lecture, set for Oct. 6. Harrison plans to outline the evolution of the presidency and the office’s war powers.
And on Oct. 13, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour will discuss the Bill of Rights and how this series of Constitutional amendments applies to the U.S. Patriot Act, the right to privacy, affirmative action, campaign finance reform and gay marriage.
“Our goal is not necessarily to debate these issues, but to analyze them,” Thorne said.
Tickets are $25 for the series or $10 for students. Individual events cost $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door. All events begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bainbridge library. Tickets are available from BIAHC at 842-7901 or biahc@artshum.org. See www.artshum.org for background information and readings.
