Emulate the example set by the founders. The Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and institute hosted this event, just over an hour. I am the chief learning Operations Officer and on behalf of all of our colleagues here at the foundation and the library museum, i want to welcome you to tonights Constitution Day lecture. Every event weat do here at the Ronald Reagan president ial library, we like to start each program with the pledge of allegiance, especially today in honor of the 16th anniversary of 9 11. We want to pay our respects to all the men women who fight for our country. Please rise. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, individual come indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much. Please be seated. I want to start off by knology our partners in planning todays events. Rosemary and beatrice, thank you so much for the generous reception that happened before hand. It is always an honor to work with the two of you and your commitment to education and this place is truly remarkable. We are honored to work with you in the republican women to celebrate the importance of the constitution. So thank you. At the end of this evening, courtesy of our friends at the ashbrook center, we have copies of a book edited and selected and introduced by dr. Gordon lloyd. I believe we have enough copies for everyone in the audience. Hell be signing that for the audience tonight. In addition to free food, the audience gets a free door prize. To celebrate the blessings of liberty them that book . The230th anniversary of signing of the constitution. President reagan were here in this room, i think you would be happy to know we have all gathered today to mark the occasion. One of the quotes president wegan was famous for was do not pass freedom to our children in the bloodstream. It must be passed for and protected. To talks this is used about defense. It is used to defend defense. But defense is not the only way to preserve freedom. Just like a football team, it does not matter how great your defenses if the offense cannot put points on the board. Ider education today, dr. Gordon lloyd would play the role of quarterback, plus passing freedom from one generation to the next. As he will see from his talk tonight, he will be the hall of famer on that team. Tonight is the lost art of compromise. Since the beginning of the country, we have in some ways been defined by opposing factions. Pitchers and loyalists, the north versus the south, big city versus the countryside, old versus young, good versus evil, freedom versus tyranny, red and blue states, republicans versus democrats, and the giants versus the dodgers. Past couple of decades, our nation has become increasingly polarized politically to the point that inely working with someone the office of a party could mean the election. On the anniversary of the constitution, what can we learn about whatomise and it means in the spirit of something greater than any one of us, and the american idea lumbee forlong anyone of us were here . Before i introduce dr. Laura, i want to read a brief excerpt from president reaganspeech 30 years ago on the anniversary of the constitution. He said to look back at the difficulties faced and surmounted, it can only give us perspective on the present. , isherry and, every age prone to think of itself as beset been usual and particular threatening difficulties. To look back on the past as a golden age were politics were not so divisive and problems did not seem so did dashti tractable. We are sometimes attempted to thing of the birth of our country as one such age, harmony and cooperation. The constitution and our government were born in crisis. It was not the absence of problems that won the day in 1787. It was the presence of something higher. Democraticof government found on the selfevident truths that still resounded in independence hall. It was that ideal proclaimed so proudly in this hall that enabled them to rise above selfinterest and transcend and create this document, this constitution that would profoundly and forever alter not just these United States, but the world. A is my pleasure to introduce man who knows a thing or two about the document and the impact it has had on the United States, i probably call him my friend, americas professor, the unprofessional unforgettable dr. Gordon lloyd. Thank you. That is very good. I want to reiterate what was on thanking our benefactors and i also want to thank you for eveningut on this balmy to hear about the constitution and to see Friendly Faces as well as old faces. That i hope are still friendly. The own faces i see from yeartoyear, they seem to get younger. Which i think is a good sign. Still, i havesor three points to make. Always doise i can one a, one b, to see, 3d, and straight out of it. I want torst issue thee is the whole notion of art of compromise. Tony gave me the copy of the whichrt of compromise, confines me so i cannot wonder so much through the website as i would like to and tell all kinds of naughty stories. Is west point really cannot talk about the lost art of compromise unless we know something about the art of compromise. The second is to give some example from the Constitutional Convention. Mentioned, president reagan pointed out we were not born in simple harmony. There is something called faction. Nature, forn human it is inu over there, human nature and to expect that we will live in this faction free world is to be living the impossible dream, which is impossible. I want to give examples from the Constitutional Convention of how you deal with faction without falling apart. What we can learn from the andtitutional convention this day of celebration of the and the signing is on september 17. The third and final point i want to explore with you in , where do we go from here . To show that there is something called the art of it is lost, when is lost, did we lose it, how did we lose it, and what to we learn about that, gaining or losing from our journey at the Constitutional Convention . Why bother why bother with the journey and where do we go from here . What can be retrieved if it ought to be retrieved . That iee main points want to converse with you about. We have one hour together. What i would love to do is to sk for about half an hour and then open it up and hear what you have to say. Ive often had this notion of standing in front of a podium and saying any questions . Retiredd that when i from fulltime teaching at pepperdine. The first question i got was how are you feeling . [laughter] so i dont think i will quite open with any questions. Talk first then of this notion of the art of compromise. As a surprise, but the word compromise is made of com andts promise. Com is latin and it means together, the idea of association with. Promise, if you pronounce it definitely, it means promise. If just part of it based onromise agreement. Notice that rule or order is not in there. It is us figuring things out. We are not giving up ourselves, but we are working things out as a community. There is a lower meaning of compromise which simply means cut a deal. Say, theis, shall we usual understanding. How do i go about persuading people or explaining something to an audience that is not appealing to their lower nature but trying to blame and persuade to explain and persuade. Art of compromise can be put have we lost the art of seeking the highest level possible . Up, i was growing remember being taught that politics was the art of the possible. The more i think of it, the improved way of putting it is the art of the best possible. The art of the possible is maybe the ordinary politician cuts the deal and runs and, to use a modern expression, kicks the can down the road. Doesnt really care about the longterm side effects. That would be a mere politician. Unfortunately, in our schools, particularly in our schools, we have this unfortunate call to students that the way that they should view their education is to change the world. I would say why dont you change yourself and leave me alone . I dont see why your idea should be to change the world. What has the world done to you . The other understanding is make a difference. To heck on you. Make a difference to yourselves. What is the utopian vision of transforming the whole human race . Whats wrong with that . Why cant you live with differences . Is the art ofnt compromise, as i would like to of it is not simply the art the best or the art of the possible, but the art of the best possible. So too fast forward to the ofning lines to the preamble the constitution, it is we the people, in order to create a more Perfect Union, it does not say to create a Perfect Union. But it doesnt say we will put up with the union we had before. Because we know there were problems with the union we had before. Union can beno perfect. So how do we make something more perfect . We could make it perhaps perfect if we got rid of liberty. Why do we have faction . Because we are free to be naughty. Of it andd get rid give everybody the same interest, the same passion. Brave new world, those things are thinkable. Int is opted opposite addition to what ive mentioned. Art of of the best, the the possible, the art of the best possible and i am going for the art of the best possible. I think that is what the constitution managers to achieve. What else should we look at in terms of opposites when we look at the art of compromise . Aten, i learn by looking opposites, where things might not be. The 230the, this is anniversary, but there is nothing part it can really entertaining or graphic about 30. Under 30, you dont trust anybody over 30. And if you are over 30, you dont trust anybody under 30. And you wont understand that joke unless you live in the 1960s. Compelling about 230. Maybe at 250. That there was something compelling at 150. And that was during the Great Depression and fdr. He gave the 150th anniversary of the signing of the constitution in a frame that he thought was the most important phrase, we the people. The way in which he and his associates interpreted that phrase is there aint nothing we the people cant do. Vehicle, an empowering document, through which we the people can do pretty much what we want to do. The metaphor that frank lynn Delano Roosevelt raised was what i would call the war metaphor, the crusade myth. Crusade metaphor. The whole project of fdr is to provide a solution. The chief executive is the commander in chief to provide that solution. We the people give a mandate. K up the word of mandate look up the word mandate. Man has nothing to do with man. It is mano. Doesnt have anything to do with dating. It is to command. Roosevelt was looking for was a mandate from the people, and order of the people usehe United States to government, through the constitution, whose three important words, three little words, was we the people, to a nd and toreat e Alter Society and transform society. Its interesting when tony was reading the reagan contribution to the 200th anniversary of the constitution, which occurred during reagans presidency, that he, too, refers to we the people. But when reagan refers to we the people in his presidency, its we the people tell the government tell the Government People tell we the the government want to do, not government tells we the people it to do. What fdr is doing is referring to we the people is a government which is a living constitution which can do pretty much anything we mandate. So these are interesting conversations we can have concerning the best which is possible, the idea of the possible, the idea of the best. Say,ss notion of consent, which i think is a very important concept which emerges from the idea of compromise. There is no idea of mandate in a compromise. There is no idea of ruling. There is an idea of coming together and consenting. And what is it that makes a compromise work . We promise or we agree. The word mandate has the implication of i order you to do this. I dont think we can have the art of compromise unless we have a commitment to the notion of a consensus or at least to consent. This is particularly important in a government which is inclined to being a democratic republic. It relies on consent. If you have a whole but to different people together and you are saying we will be a government by consent, it will be extremely difficult upon that off. Let us remember one of the things we are celebrating today is that no government you might say this is not something you celebrate, but you will figure it out that no government in the history of the world has lasted forever. Governmentst form of failure is a civil war. And that means that the people are unwilling to come together and be one. They would rather divorce. I think that is something which is an important point to think about. Let me end this first part, dealing with the practical arts and sciences, with a matrix you could put up like this. Didromise, like it compromise, dont like it. Why would anybody in their right mind not like compromise . It creates perhaps imprecise producers maybe an ungovernable situation. In fact, it may even lead to a situation where we do kick the can down the road. Why would someone not like compromise . Because it seems to suggest that wehave dropped our values or are no longer interested in the right thing. And is that something we want to cheech to teach our children . Dont do the right thing. Do near the right thing. So that is somebody who wouldnt like compromise. We will get to that the last section. Then other parts of the matrix would be war. Consent, i like. Consent, i dont like. Compromise, i like. Compromise, i dont like. War, i like. Who would like to like war . War onwer is wiping out poverty, war on obesity, war on children who cant read, war on whatever, but politics becomes war. Metaphor. The war we judge our institutions in accordance with whether they can win this war or solve that problem. So who would like war . Those who want to solve problems. Who dont well kind of person would not like war . Those who think that we would rather work it out between selves, consent modeled consent, muddled through, then say orders delivered by judiciary, orders through executive orders, orders through a bureaucracy, etc. So let me leave you with that. Part im going to rely on you to ask you some questions on this. But i want to cover three points. That comes to the website. It says explore the american founded. Ctually for websites, but i will cut one of them. Constitutional convention, the ratification of the constitution and the bill of rights. Those are the four founding documents. I will call the constitution for this evening. What we want to look at is to what extent is the art of compromise in the high sense being there . And in what sense is the art of compromise in the low sense of cut a deal there . To what extent is compromise not there at all and we can, in fact, if in that defend that . The Constitutional Convention, tony, if we were to turn to the four app drama. Ive broken down the Constitutional Convention into a four act drama. Pagesbates is about 50 and people will roll their eyes, sometimes including me, who spent my entire life trying to read them. So not as a substitute as cliff notes, but as a way to trying to encourage people to stay the course, to stick to the material. I have broken it down into a fouract drama. It almost sounds shakespearean or platonic. Yes, i think what matters, what i put together is a report the fathers writing the constitution rises to that level. It is a wonderful piece of work. Last year, for those of you who that book we gave out. It the year before. I dont get anything as a result. Its my contribution for a country that chose to have me. I am an immigrant. Alone, by the way, with 20 of those who signed the constitution. Act one, the alternative lands. You cant have them all. Whats going on . First of all is laying down the rules. What kind of rules . Compromises dont have them. You have to make sure there are rules laid down, that people at least appear that they are listening. Somebodyall asleep, next to them will nudge them. They will wake up for that moment and smile at you and think that you didnt notice. By laying down the rules its, like, no one shall spate twice unless someone has spaken first. Those types of rules. It is very important. Compromise and conversations not you. It. L just ignore you, cspan. Point. Make a what why are they here . They are here to make a whole Perfect Union. From what . The articles of confederation. According to madison, what is wrong . It has a structural problem. What is that structural problem . We the people does not fit into it. Why not . Because it is a Legal Alliance between 13 previous states. We the people fitted to each state. There are other people who go there not to change that structural issue, but to change the powers, to give congress more powers. How will they vote, they being the delegates chosen . How will they vote at the convention . Miramar suggested that James Madison tackle this straight on. What do you mean . What i mean is this. We themean to have people into the equation, that means we will provide proportional representation, representation based on the people rather than representation based on the states, so that the people of virginia, the people of pennsylvania should have more representation than the people of rhode island. They dont bother to show up anyway. Or the people of New Hampshire. So we want to have popular representation rather than one state, one vote. So why dont we start away with of how we run the convention . If you do that right at the beginning, everybody will go home. Persuade we tried to the delegates from delaware and New Hampshire to give that principle and see the art of compromise on a system based on we the people. In other words, we have to educate them on how to be americans. That will be a long education. So madison seduces the virginia plan. Are the people more happy in small states than large states . People are happier in small communities where they know each other, look out for each other madison says all the better to shaft you, my dear. People know all your business and, therefore, the they will not leave you alone. So should we go for small communities joined together loosely or should we go for one