Hamilton College’s Constitution Day Lecture: “The Vigor of Government is Essential to the Security of Liberty.”

Robert L. Tsai will delivery the Hamilton College’s Constitution Day Lecture, titled “The Vigor of Government is Essential to the Security of Liberty” on Tuesday, September 17. The talk will begin at 4:10pm at Hamilton College. 

What would it mean for the people of the United States to have a modern constitution worthy of a 21st century democracy rather than an 18th century text for an agrarian, slaveholding society? It would mean figuring out what the Framers got right and what they got wrong, and reckoning forthrightly with the challenges of pluralism, unaddressed grievances for social justice, and a sclerotic set of national institutions. It would also mean shaking off our national chauvinism and becoming more receptive to how other democracies have adapted to a changing world. Chief among the subjects to be discussed is reform of the federal judiciary.  The judiciary has become a national policy-making body susceptible to capture by oligarchic interests and narrow movements, and it regularly impedes effective policy-making and demoralizes the citizenry.