Helping hands: Make your voice heard on Constitution Day in State College

Nearly 162 years ago, Abraham Lincoln spoke of a government “by the people.” But in our currently dysfunctional politics, it seems that only the loudest voices are heard. Few of us believe that we could play an active role in setting the direction for our country.

Perhaps it’s time to change that.

Please join us for the Constitution Day Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 20 (A non-football Saturday)! We will again hold deliberative roundtables on issues of importance to our democracy. We are asking fellow citizens to wrestle with several foundational questions: What values do Americans share? What could we do to make our political conversations more productive? How might the Bill of Rights be adapted for today?

These are not questions with easy or simple answers. But with thoughtfulness and a willingness to consider other perspectives, we can discover our areas of common ground, and a place from which we can move forward. The U.S. Constitution 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.

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 trained moderators who will help us to stay on track, but more importantly, who will work to ensure that every voice is heard. That is why your participation is important.

The results of our deliberations will be shared with both the community and our elected officials, but you might legitimately ask: “What difference will this make?”

My answer: If nothing else, we need the practice of having civil conversations — and 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. Besides, it might be fun!

My hope is that you are willing to invest a few hours of your time in support of practical democracy. In previous years we have deliberated on the purpose of public education, elections and the structure of our democracy, and immigration policy. Most attendees have found they do, in fact, share some core values and places of common ground.

From 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, we invite you to the Making Our Voices Heard Roundtables, followed by the Madison Award for Civility in the Community, at the Delta High School, 653 Westerly Parkway, State College. Register for free at: wpsu.org/constitutionday and save your seat, but we welcome walk-ins.

David Hutchinson is the president of Constitution Day Centre.