THE NEW AGE--ARTICLE--APRIL 1990--ARTCANN.APR
                    A THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT
                          MARK W. CANNON
         Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
     Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington, D.C.  20560


     Seeking funds for a projected Commission on the Year 2000,
Daniel Bell approached the head of a major foundation.  The
response was that predicting the future was exceedingly difficult
or utterly trivial.  He demanded of Bell one valid prediction or
he would get no money.  Bell attempted one:  "This is 1964.  In
November of this year there will be an election for President of
the United States; and in 1968, 1972, 1976, '80, '84, '88, '92,
'96, and in the year 2000 there will be elections for President
of the United States."  
     The foundation head exclaimed, "That's a darn trivial
prediction."  Bell replied, "There are more than 120 nations in
the world.  About how many of those can you make that
prediction?"  Bell received his grant.  
     That one of the greatest achievements in the world's
political history could be called "trivial" highlights the
problem we faced in commemorating the Bicentennial of the United
States Constitution--a charter whose very success led to
complacency so great that efforts to commemorate it were at first
met largely with indifference.
     The Scottish Rite, long one of America's largest patriotic
organizations, helped shake off this lethargy with programs
directed by its excellent Bicentennial Committee chaired by
Admiral W. Gene Sizemore, with Carroll M. Bowman, Martin D.
Carlin, Walter S. Downs and Robert E. Redding.  Activities
included:  
     . signing jointly a proclamation with the Northern
Jurisdiction in Independence Hall on efforts to commemorate the
Constitution, the first such joint agreement in history;
     . presenting that proclamation to Commission Chairman Chief
Justice Warren E. Burger in a ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber;
     . publishing monthly articles in The New Age Magazine about
the Constitution and the Bicentennial;
     . initiating of The Keystone Report to keep members informed
and participating;
     . holding regional day-long seminars on the Constitution;
     . sending teachers to Freedoms Foundation seminars on the
Constitution;
     . supporting the "Bells Across America" program to celebrate
the signing of the Constitution;
     . publishing Sovereign Grand Commander C. Fred Kleinknecht's
book Anchor of Liberty, dedicated to the signers of the
Constitution with a forward by Chief Justice Burger;
     . preparing Let's Celebrate America for elementary school
children;
     . distributing 1,787 copies of Robert Schoeller's portrait
of George Washington.  
     In addition, the Scottish Rite sponsored and manned the
float featuring George Washington and Benjamin Franklin signing
the Constitution that won first place in the 1987 National
Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C.  The Rite also
sponsored and manned a float on ratification that won first place
in its category in the Apple Blossom Parade in 1988.  Overall,
countless members of the Scottish Rite joined with State and
local Bicentennial Commissions and other groups to carry out
projects which helped make the whole national Commemoration
effective.    
     This article shows how the type of voluntary effort
exemplified by the Scottish Rite helped the commemoration
succeed, just as volunteer efforts created and sustained the
Constitution in the first place. 
     The experience of working with the Scottish Rite and serving
as Staff Director of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the
U.S. Constitution has convinced me that opinion leaders should
and can strengthen the spirit of volunteerism in others.  As
President George Bush says, "There is no problem in America that
is not being solved somewhere."

                     THE VOLUNTEERISM FACTOR 
     American Independence and the Constitution came from acts of
popular initiative.  Three heroic volunteers--Hamilton, Jay and
Madison--turned around two-to-one opposition against ratification
at the New York Constitutional Convention by publishing The
Federalist.  The Founders believed that to avoid both chaos and
tyranny a republic required virtuous committed citizens.  John
Adams warned: "Liberty can no more exist without virtue and
independence than the body can live and move without a soul."  To
Tocqueville, America's voluntary spirit set it apart from Europe. 
Volunteerism created America.
     Congress established the Bicentennial Commission in 1985. 
It drew on the long-standing tradition of American volunteerism
to overcome awesome obstacles including a budget of only $1.1
million (compared with $250 million spent commemorating the
Declaration of Independence) and, most devastating of all,
virtually no public interest in the Bicentennial of the
Constitution.  
     Unlike the 1989 French Bicentennial, the Commission decided
against producing a $67 million extravaganza.  Instead, we aimed
"to foster among the people...a just appreciation and a clearer
understanding of their constitutional heritage."  
     To multiply limited resources, we wanted to persuade
"thousands of organizations at the grass-roots level [to] educate
their members and others about" the Constitution's unique ability
"to ensure freedom under law."
     This difficult task of mobilizing both private and public
agencies produced remarkable results.  As just a few examples:

.    Despite the absence of Federal grants, Federal agencies, the
     States and 2500 local governments created Bicentennial
     organizations to design and carry out an array of programs. 
     For example, the U.S. Park Service presented Constitutional
     musicals and themes to millions of park visitors.    

.    Disney World made the Constitution the theme of its
     fifteenth birthday with speeches to about 5000 journalists
     (perhaps the largest number ever gathered) by Nick Daniloff
     in his first appearance after release from a Soviet prison.
     
.    About 13 million copies of the Constitution were
     distributed, many by the Scottish Rite.

.    American Express, and others funded a tour of a remarkable
     exhibit, including the Magna Carta and a late draft of the
     Constitution, to 100 cities in 26 States.

.    From the west steps of the Capitol, ABC telecast live a 40-
     minute celebration on September 16, 1987, with educational
     speeches by our top leaders.  Funded by Xerox and RJR
     Nabisco, this event attracted 125,000 individuals.

.    The Advertising Council worked with the Commission to
     produce engaging ads, for which television, radio and
     periodicals gave an estimated $35 million of free time and
     space.

.    The General Mills Company placed 15 vignettes on 100 million
     cereal boxes--more likely to be read by youngsters than
     newspaper articles--which were expected to be seen one
     billion times.

.    McDonald's Corporation printed four artistic tray mats with
     history and quizzes, expected to make 400 million
     impressions.  Marriott's Roy Rogers restaurants also made
     mats.  Other companies printed millions of panels on milk
     cartons and shopping bags. 

.    In the month of June 1987 alone, 31,700 articles were
     published about the Constitution.  Constitutional history
     became pervasive in radio and television.

.    Madison's home, Montpelier, is being restored--an
     appropriate action given that in 1986 only 1 percent of the
     public knew that Madison played the largest role in writing
     the Constitution.

.    Merrill Lynch contributed $6 million particularly to help
     finance State ratification commemorations.  

.    Special primary school materials, high school curriculums,
     secondary school teacher training programs, and graduate
     studies programs brought millions of teachers and students
     to a better understanding of the United States
     Constitution--its history, ideals and significance today.

.    Citizens purchased over 4 million Bicentennial coins, which
     yielded a surplus of $88 million to the U.S. Treasury. 
     These profits exceeded total appropriations to the
     Commission of $53.7 million by the summer of 1989.

     In conclusion, understanding of and support for the
Constitution have become much more prevalent since the
Bicentennial Commemoration moved into full swing.  The Commission
strove to make this the first Commemoration to institutionalize
learning about its theme after the Commemoration was over. 
Nevertheless, other forces could cause the Constitution to again
be seen by many as an irrelevant antique.  Twenty-two of the
thirty-nine signers of the Constitution were Masons.  Many more
helped win ratification of the Constitution.  The Scottish Rite,
which has long kept alive patriotic respect for the Constitution,
must continue to be in the vanguard of that effort.   

_____________________________________________________________
The Scottish Rite, long one of America's largest patriotic
organizations, helped shake off lethargy with programs directed
by its excellent Bicentennial Committee.

The voluntary effort exemplified by the Scottish Rite helped the
Bicentennial commemoration succeed, just as volunteer efforts
created and sustained the Constitution in the first place. 

"Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than
the body can live and move without a soul."
                                   John Adams


[Editor's Note: This article is excerpted and adapted from a
keynote address to a triennial convention of Phi Kappa Phi.]

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