Dick Meyer, writing for DecodeDC:
What are the core values of the U.S. Constitution?
“We, the people,” the poetic expression of the idea of democratic self-government, is surely at the head of the list.
Most of us would probably add the values guarded by the addendum to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights: free speech, freedom of religion, due process and equal treatment under the law. Then there are values central to governing: checks and balances, the separation of powers and federalism.
Larry Kramer, a constitutional law scholar, former dean of Stanford Law School and now the president of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, believes a less appreciated idea should be first among equals. In a speech at the University of Pennsylvania Law School this week, Kramer makes the case for compromise as a core constitutional value.
