In the United States, the shape of our society can be traced to a four-page document penned 232 years ago. The Constitution lays out our laws, our system of government, the roles of states, and our responsibilities as citizens. It is the DNA of our democracy, but is it, as Abraham Lincoln said, really for us and by us?
Kat Imhoff, president and CEO of the Montpelier Foundation; Kristen Cavallo, CEO of the The Martin Agency; and Levar Stoney, mayor of the city of Richmond explored the question in a contemporary context.
“All Americans feel—86 percent, and that’s huge in polling—we all feel like we should know more about our user's manual, the Constitution. Ninety-three percent of us said that, in particular, the police really need to know more about the Constitution,” began Imhoff.
Last year the Montpelier Foundation, with help from the global analytics firm Edelman Intelligence, launched a national survey to better understand what people know about the governing document of American life, one that has also been a template for other democratic governments.
“When you look at the preamble of the Constitution, we should be striving for a more perfect union,” said Stoney, “And surprise, it's not perfect.”
He continued, “I think many of my residents can easily see that sometimes the Constitution not working on their behalf. It's not because of the document itself. It’s the people that we elect to carry out and be the practitioners of democracy. And I think what we are seeing, at least at the federal level, is that this inaction leaves marginalized communities behind.”
From her perspective leading one of the nation’s premier advertising agencies, Cavallo has seen a profound shift in attitudes towards activism resulting in many corporations taking political stances. “The role and responsibly of advertising is great in terms of leading people towards all the things that our Constitution is based on, which is the blessings of liberty or “We the People.”
In fact, companies such as Penzeys, Boost Mobile, and Patagonia are going further, “The last two years, another shift we have seen in branding is that it's not only important to know what your brand stands for but where you draw the line, what your brand stands against,” she said.
For the 2018 midterm elections, Boost Mobile conducted voter registrations in their stores, and Patagonia vowed to fight the federal government over the shrinking of national parklands.
Cavallo also believes that challenges to the Constitution and political polarization are leading to inaction on important social questions such as guns, immigration, and healthcare. “We as people have relied heavily on our ability to vote as a way of getting our say. But I think given the various voting dilemmas, those votes don’t necessarily manifest in progress. I think we therefore have become a country of activism. We march. And we are marching brilliantly.
"And yet still it’s not manifesting in change, and so now I think we will go to the dollar. We will buy; we will demand more of companies to stand up for things, and we will reward the companies that align with us.”
Stoney expressed concern that the Constitution is not as much of a living document. “It's not growing these days. It's not growing during these changing times of our country.” He cited the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment to pass in the Virginia legislature and the lack of any real gun restrictions.
“Shouldn’t the Constitution be the one document that provides the safeguards that save us from ourselves?”
To end, Imhoff relayed the old story about Ben Franklin who, upon leaving the Constitutional Convention was asked by a woman, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Without pause, Franklin responded, “A republic. If you can keep it.”
