Constitution Camp: Recent Episodes
Peter Temes
Constitution Camp offers a deep dive into the text and context of the founding documents of the United States, beginning with the bold human rights philosophy of the Declaration of Independence. Through close reading and dialogue with presidential nominees Michael Dukakis, philosophy professor Anthony Kelly – raised by a single mother in public housing in Birmingham Alabama – global peacemaker Jessica Murrey, Cato Institute chair Roger Pilon, and others. Hosted by Peter Temes.
Our third and final close look at the language and meaning of the Declaration of Independence begins with a consideration of human rights, the bedrock of this vital – and contradictory – document. How are we to take the soaring principles, the demands on behalf of humanity, etched into history through this declaration, alongside the status of many of its signers as slaveholders, and its brutal denigration of American Indian people?
Historian David Nielsen offers context. Philosophy professor Anthony Kelley adds personal reflection on lived experience, and some of the big ideas at issue. Activist Adrienne Klein shares thoughts about diplomacy and the “decent respect of the opinions of mankind” we hear invoked at the beginning of the Declaration. Global peacemaker Jessica Murrey ends with a reflection on peace, independence, and how we negotiate real progress in the world. We conclude with a call to dedicate ourselves as spiritual and political heirs of this document to reaching toward its unfulfilled promises.
We return to the Declaration of Independence to consider what key words and ideas meant to its writers, and what they mean to us, including “equality,” “self-evident,” and even “men.”
Cato Institute scholar Roger Pilon, Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, scholar Cary Nathensen, and law professor Noah Rosenblum all offer sharp perceptions and challenges.
And through it all, we look closely at what the words of the Declaration of Independence say, what they mean, and how they can remain alive in our lives.
Our first leap into a close reading of the Declaration of Independence, the document that declared that “all men are created equal,” challenging the King of England, the masters of inequality among the Declaration’s authors, and our own generation of Americans alike. Join us for a lively discussion of the words themselves, and what they have meant.
Historian David Nielsen recalls his earliest encounter with the Declaration; data scientist Nadi Penjarla recalls the inspiration his grandfather, a revolutionary in India, took from the Declaration; and Karen Morris shares her stirring encounters with the American declaration in her British convent school.
Philosophy professor Anthony Kelley, raised by a single mother in public housing in Birmingham, Alabama, thinks deeply about where there might be room for him in the Declaration, and shares how it fits into his Philosophy of the Black Rights Matters Movement course.
Global peacemaker Jessica Murrey adds her important reflections, and scholar Cary Nathenson offers his perspectives on how the Declaration speaks to our politics in the US today.
And through it all, we look closely at what the words of the Declaration of Independence say, what they mean, and how they can remain alive in our lives.