Writer to focus on document’s uniqueness for Constitution Day event

Riverside, Calif. (Sept. 16, 2024) – The Department of History and Government at California Baptist University is holding a Constitution Day event on Sept. 17. The annual observance marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

The talk will feature Troy Senik, co-founder at Kite & Key Media, a digital media company. He has been a White House speechwriter, a think tank executive, a newspaper columnist and a podcaster. He also wrote “A Man of Iron,” a biography on Grover Cleveland.

His talk is titled “America, Imperfect by Design." We asked him about the topic.

What will your talk be about?

My talk will focus on what has made the U.S. Constitution uniquely successful; namely, that it’s a far more modest document than the constitution of many other nations.

Why is this topic important to you?

Success oftentimes breeds ingratitude. The better you have it, the less likely you are to appreciate the factors that make life so good. Americans are so accustomed to life under our Constitution that we rarely take the time to think about how fortunate we are to live under such a document.

What do you want the audience to get from your talk?

I hope to convey that the Constitution is a minor miracle. Despite how much pessimism there currently is about the state of the country, few people who have ever lived are as fortunate as the average American citizen in the year 2024. Much of that success owes to the framework built by the Founding Fathers.

Anything else you would like to add?
Throughout our history there have always been anxieties that the Constitution was in mortal peril — and anxieties that the Constitution's inadequacies were putting the country in mortal peril. Thus far, both have been proved wrong. We should expect the same about today’s concerns.

Those who worry that the Constitution is embattled underestimate the safeguards the Founding Fathers built into the system. Those who view the document as oppressive overstate its reach. Our Constitution — unusually, compared to those of other nations — does not attempt to tell Americans how to live, nor does it attempt to dictate public policy. It merely creates a framework for how government should operate and establishes limits on government’s reach. Fear of the document is misplaced. Our real fears should be about whether we elect public officials with the necessary character to abide by it.

Constitution Day Event
When: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sept. 17
Where: Innovators Auditorium, California Baptist University, 8432 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92504