A More Perfect Union

Dear Readers,

Last week I had the tremendous blessing of watching the BYU film A More Perfect Union which tells the wonderful story of James Madison and the constitutional convention. I could write post upon post about the excellent acting and direction and craft in general, but that doesn't have much to do with our topics of discussion in Honors 240 :-). More along the lines of American Studies, I was very struck by how dramatic all the founding fathers seemed to be. Sure we don't have video footage of how they actually acted, but (to my knowledge--I could be completely) the script was based on the detailed notes that James Madison took as the convention dragged on. Anyway, for being the American paragons of the Age of Reason, they sure let their emotions drive them. The whole time I was so frustrated by how resistant they all were to compromise. Granted, they were involved in perhaps the most important intellectual and political work of the eighteenth century, but still, I was amazed at how long it took both sides of the representation debate to come around.

Furthermore, I was surprised at which particular characters (perhaps that's the wrong word) chose compromise first. The men who came off most headstrong at the beginning of the process seemed to be the first to suggest a mutually agreeable solution. Surprisingly, wise James Madison, who wanted the convention to succeed more than anyone, was one of the last to agree to the compromise which has lasted until this day. It's reassuring that their matters of debate were so greatly beyond themselves, otherwise their behavior might have accurately characterized them as some of the most stubborn and self-centered people in history.

I'd like to reemphasize how surprisingly dramatic the film was. If it weren't for the fact that the birth of the Constitution was of immense global and historical importance, the story would almost be a political soap opera.

Well, I'd better stop blaspheming the creation our nation's foundational document. I'll leave you with a video of a great singer singing a great song. Enjoy!



Christian