In the February issue of Arizona Attorney, we will publish remarks delivered by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton at the dedication of the nation’s first Bill of Rights Monument.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton speaks at Bill of Rights Monument dedication, Dec. 15, 2012
One of the reasons is that over the past year, we’ve covered the run-up to the monument, so it’s great to let you know the monoliths are finally in the ground.
But the bigger reason is that his words were well chosen and rather inspiring. Of course, you may disagree. But that’s the thing about inspiration: One listener’s wow is another’s woe.
Here is some of what the Mayor said:
“We risk shortchanging ourselves and posterity when we regard the Constitution as a closed book from which no further new insight is possible. Our flexible foundation for interpreting the Constitution has made our great country the strongest and oldest continuous democracy in the world.”
“The Founders’ genius lies not in a pretension to clairvoyant understanding of their thoughts at the time the Constitution was drafted. It lies in the Founders’ intent that we would apply common-sense understanding of whom We the People are, our shared history, and our shared aspirations. The Constitution is not a dead text that we mechanically recite. It is a mirror in which our better selves are reflected.”
“These stone monuments commemorating the Bill of Rights are magnificent. They are a fitting memorial for the real thing. But the real thing is not a stone. The real thing is a living Constitution that gives hope to the United States and the rest of the world, for today and the future.”
Ninth Amendment monolith unveiled by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton
His words came to mind the other day as I read a blog post by lawyer Melinda Hightower. In it, she provided three videos that “help you rediscover your passion for law.”
Her selections are inspired, but you and I may have selected differently. She anticipates that when she asks her readers to offer their own favorite speeches. OK, I thought; let me think about it.
My first inclination was to watch a clip from My Cousin Vinny. (I know: It’s a cry for help.) But I suspect she meant a speech on a more serious plane. So although they were more recent and did not influence my decision to go to law school, I offer two. The first, recent, one is Mayor Stanton’s remarks.
The second speech is one that was uttered by Morris Dees, lawyer and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He delivered the McCormick Lecture at UA Law School recently, but I point you to “Morris Dees: With Justice for All,” the video version of a speech he delivered at Grinnell College. Here it is.
So let me repeat Melinda Hightower’s excellent question: “What speeches have inspired you to pursue your interest in law?” What speeches would you recommend to others?
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January 9, 2013 at 8:46 am
How ironic that in dedicating statements set in stone the Mayor espouses a “living” Constitution. As that term is commonly used, we have no certainty that our rights today are as extensive as they were yesterday. To underscore that, today the US SC will hear a 4th A case: it seems to me that if the Constitution is living then the Court is free to decide that case based in its perception of what the law should be today (rather than being bound by the plain meaning of the text.)
January 9, 2013 at 8:53 am
Thanks for commenting. I was also struck by the contrast. But whether the Constitution’s living or dead, the Justices could decide based not on their perception of what the law should be today, but on how they believe the Founders would have decided the instant case or controversy, given all the evidence we have available, Despite public battles over methods of interpretation, most all the Justices probably weigh things in similar ways (though they come to different conclusions).