Dean's Den Launches Year with Constitution Day Session
Fritz B. Burns Dean Brietta Clark debuted a new academic year of her Dean's Den conversation series with a special Constitution Day talk, "The Work of Democracy," by Professor Justin Levitt, Gerald T. McLaughlin Fellow.
"Today, on Sept. 17, we commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution and its pivotal role in establishing the foundation for our nation's democracy. Each year, we use this occasion to reflect on the principles, rights, and freedoms that underlie this foundation, and to consider how we're doing," said Dean Clark in her opening remarks. "On the eve of this country's 250th birthday, we will have a number of opportunities throughout the year to come together to engage this reflection through the Dean's Den that I will be hosting."
In his remarks, Levitt articulated the power of a living, breathing governing document that requires constant tending. "We have a republic, but it's on us to keep it. Democracy is an action verb," he said to a rapt full house of students and faculty members. "Thank you all so much for putting in the work. You hold more power than you know."
Facing unprecedented tests on the eve of the nation's 250th anniversary, the Constitution is attracting more attention than ever. That is no surprise. "Democracy is the infrastructure of infrastructure," said Levitt. "Most people only notice when something goes wrong."
Regarding claims of stolen elections, Levitt looked back at the 2016 election and concerns about foreign attempts to hack the results. "Nobody hacked the voting machines; nobody hacked the tabulators. But they did figure out that the weak link is never the machinery. The wink link is human," he said. "In a large and diverse country, the weak link is public trust and confidence. And so they systematically amplified and exploited our divisions, throwing gas on a fire that was already burning. They hacked the people; they hacked us. That was 2016. In 2020, the calls were coming from inside the house. We hacked us. And it worked. January 6 was the first occupation in history of the U.S. Capitol by an armed domestic force, where a confederate flagged gianed entry into the people's house that it never did during the Civil War."
Watch the entire Constitution Day video>>