The Founders Vision Is Alive and Not in Stone

Talking to my friend Andy Postman in front of school today at PS 321-we don't go there, our kids do--Andy pointed out something remarkable about Barack Obama's victory speech last night, where he had this line: "I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years--block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand."

Besides the beautiful and simple poetry of the line, Obama, according to Andy, asked us to understand when he was starting American history. And if you do the math, you realize that Obama linked us not to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 but to the ratification of the Constitution, adopted in Philadelphia in 1787.

"To think that our new President was giving us a lesson in history, making an argument about history like a teacher--was so refreshing," Andy said.

So true.

And as I thought about that line throughout the day, I thought a lot about how much the White House is, like Teddy Roosevelt is credited with using it--a "Bully Pulpit" for the President to think aloud, prod, and lead the nation to a better place.

In the Declaration of Independence, we established our ideals and justification for breaking away from Great Britain but as we all know, slavery and the subjugation of women was not addressed there. But it was in the U.S. Constitution that the redemption of blacks from slavery and women from disenfranchisement would be found. The Constitution was the document--"block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand"--that would make Obama's victory possible last night.

The metaphor Obama used of Ann Nixon Cooper's 106 years, spanning a nation, a life as a symbol of the possibilities of American democracy, was a powerful bringing to life of that great document. "A lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard" she, and by implication, all of us, are embodied renderings of that Constitution.

For all those out there in the Land, searching for a Demon where none exists, take note: a more stable and reassuring message from your new President could not have been delivered. "I stand here today," he seemed to say, "because the Constitution said it must be so!"

The Torah brings me into being as a Jew; the Constitution brings me into being as an American. It seems in the end American Jews really like this stuff.

And what an incredible gift that our new leader has for weaving such metaphors for us as we embark on the hard work of repairing our great nation.

Last week, Rick Hertzberg of the New Yorker and Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center spoke here at CBE and they talked about the Constitution. One of Hertzberg's points about Washington DC was really refreshing. He said, "If the Founders came back today and saw the ways in which they had been turned into Idols along the Mall in the city, they'd be appalled. They're more likely to have rather created a revolution where the document they created led to a nation forever in dialogue with its values. Not become gods of stone."

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Andy Bachman

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The Founders Vision Is Alive and Not in Stone