Sharing a Constitutional Conversation

The National Society was pleased on Wednesday evening to present a “Constitutional Conversation” in DAR Constitution Hall with Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and host of the three-part PBS mini-series, “A More or Less Perfect Union.” Sharing the stage of a building dedicated to the most brilliant governance document in the history of mankind, it was a privilege for me to discuss the marvels of our Constitution with our distinguished guest, who also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and who was the law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Our 75-minute conversation was interspersed with short illustrative clips from the mini-series, which was produced for PBS by the Free To Choose Network, and which offers companion educational materials through its partner www.izzit.org. Among the wide-ranging topics that we discussed were the insufficiency of the Articles of Confederation, the brilliance of James Madison, the importance of George Washington’s selection as our first president, the incongruity of slavery and the Constitution as a living document.

Please enjoy this recording of our “Constitutional Conversation” event here.

As a result of this event, I have learned so much about this governing compact in which we, as citizens, must play a key, participatory part.  Let the words of Founding Father Ben Franklin remind us of our role in this republic of ours: When asked by a woman what kind of government the framers had created, he famously replied, “A republic, madam. If you can keep it.”

Judge Ginsburg has also edited a companion coffee table book to the series, titled “Voices of the Republic.” It explores the impact of the Constitution through the viewpoints of “75 leaders and everyday heroes,” including your President General! I am delighted to be featured in the hard-cover book, along with such wide-ranging Americans as Ruth Bader Ginsburg (no relation to our guest), Brett Kavanaugh, Ted Koppel, Ben Stein, Chuck Todd, Gen. Ann Dunwoody, Jack Nicklaus and many others. Copies of the book are available for sale through the DAR Store.

Finally, please allow me to recognize our hard-working DAR staff members from the Public Relations, Development, Constitution Hall and DAR Store departments – they capably executed this unique and memorable interactive event in addition to all of their other day-to-day assignments, for which I am most grateful. I hope that you will take some time to view the video that was created – it would make an excellent chapter program.