Feingold on campus

Senator Russ Feingold took part in a forum at the Law School today. It was called "A Conversation on the Role of Constitutions in Developing Democracy." With the Senator were South African Ambassador to the U.S. Barbara Masekela and UW Professor of History John Kaminski.

It was a really interesting panel discussion. As interesting as the topic was, of course, I really went to see Senator Feingold, who I admire a great deal. As he was wrapping up, he mentioned how he took the liberty of reading the South African Constitution on the flight so that he could talk about it. He noted the bill of rights provisions that guaranteed the right to health care, privacy, a clean environment, and labor rights. He then noted the absence of any provisions banning gay marriage or flag burning, and said (something like) "Constitutions are serious business. We should take ours seriously."