I teach six Constitution Classes in Southern California, along with my podcasts, radio programs, public speaking, books, videos, and other endeavors. I usually get home relatively late, and often on the way home I drop by the store to pick up a few grocery items. I am not one to wait until the shelves are empty to buy things. I tend to purchase items in my kitchen as they get close to running out.
Due to my regular visits Monday through Thursday evening I have gotten to know a sales clerk at the store quite well. She's African-American (not a fan of hyphenating things, but I am figuring that is how she would describe herself), and we always greet each other, but last night she seemed to want to talk a little more than our usual "hey, how's it going" banter.
I told her I was coming in from Carlsbad, and she asked, "Tell me about these classes you teach."
I explained to her that they are all about the U.S. Constitution. I go through the document line by line, explaining the original intent by the writers, the current interpretation, and I use historical devices to relay the context of the language used in the document.
"Do you do this for people who want to be citizens?"
"Not particularly. These are people who just want to learn the topic. I have had a few folks who wanted to learn it for citizenship, but that's not my usual students."
Her curiosity was appreciated, and while I have no idea where she stands politically, I got to thinking as I was talking to her that I wanted her to understand that from my point of view politics is not about what I do.
"Here's what I tell people during speeches and classes," I said. "The Constitution is not a red document, or a blue document. It's not on the right, it's not on the left. It's an American Document, and when I teach it that's the way I try to convey my message."
She grinned. Most people appreciate my attitude when it comes to constitutionalism being more about the truth regarding the document rather than a political party's interpretation or misuse of it.
And, I suppose, that's my message to all of you. While folks who are "conservative, Christian, and republican" tend to be attracted to my classes, the message is for everyone.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
No comments:
Post a Comment