The triumphs of the United States Constitution were not celebrated but rather tested yesterday in a Constitution Day lecture.
Michael McCann, the Gordon Hirabayashi professor for the advancement of citizenship at the University of Washington, spoke yesterday in Baker University Center Ballroom as part of OU’s celebration of Constitution Day, which was Saturday.
McCann prodded his audience to think about the inequality the Constitution has encouraged in American society since its creation.
About 300 students, faculty and Athens residents attended the lecture.
McCann’s speech, entitled “The U.S. Constitution and The Myth of Rights,” introduced new ideas to a classic interpretation of the way Americans view their constitutional rights.
“The Myth of Rights” is a concept developed by the late Stuart Scheingold, a noted author and former University of Washington professor. It states that American citizens tend to believe rights are a universal concept enjoyed by everyone, even though countless studies show that different people enjoy these rights to different extents, McCann said.
“There is a gap between the promise of rights and the actual fact of our experience with those rights,” he said.
McCann said new research shows Americans might not believe in constitutional rights as strongly as was previously thought.
Furthermore, the myth of rights encourages the belief that all of society is equal.
“(However), the logic of constitutional equality supports and constructs inequality,” he said.
McCann used the treatment of African-Americans throughout U.S. history as his prime example of constitutional inequality.
Evan Meles, a junior studying political science, said he attended the speech because he was interested in the idea of rights and their unwritten implications for people in the U.S.
“I learned something, which is always good,” Meles said.
Professor John Gilliom, head of OU’s political science department, was primarily responsible for organizing the event. He said he was happy with the lecture’s attendance.
McCann is an internationally recognized scholar and has worked with many OU faculty members in the past, Gilliom said. He was also asked to speak at Princeton University today, he but chose to come to OU instead.
Athens resident Ted Gilfert said he enjoyed the speech and liked the comparison of the two different analyses of constitutional rights.
“I thought it was great,” he said. “It’s fantastic that in a small community like Athens, we can attract national speakers through Ohio University.”
Ohio University Southern celebrated Constitution Day last Friday. Steve Nousen, a Benjamin Franklin interpreter, performed on campus and at Symmes Valley High School in Willow Wood, Ohio. The programs were different, but both focused on the U.S. Constitution and Franklin’s role in its creation.
Both events had a good turnout, said Dave Lucas, associate professor of communication studies at Ohio University Southern.
“It was a really nice blend,” Lucas said. “We had some faculty, some students and some people from the community.”
