Mike Farris:
John Adams once said that “liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” Juliette, how does your book help younger students gain a general knowledge of our Constitution?
Juliette Turner:
Well, first of all, that quote is one of my mother’s favorite quotes. We actually have that hanging in our kitchen with John Adams’ face. I believe that my book really . . . what I tried to do was make the Constitution applicable to my generation, because when I tell my friends about the Constitution, they say, “Oh, that’s just a document that was written 226 years ago,” or, “That totally doesn’t apply to my life.” However, through my book, I try to apply it to my sections in each chapter. I have 90 chapters breaking down the Constitution into 90 segments, and I have, “What Has It Done for Me Lately?” “Why Should I Care?” “How Can I Make a Difference?” “Breakin’ It Down,” and “The Bottom Line,” and “What Were They Thinking?” And what I tried to with this is to really make my generation realize that every aspect of the Constitution applies to us today. And I tried to appeal to my generation through all the illustrations and the different colors cause I mean people my age really don’t want to sit down and read scholarly essays on the Constitution. But we have to if we want to preserve our government and our country, and so I tried to make my book appeal to my generation through that way.
Mike:
Juliette, I think a lot of older people will also enjoy your approach. The Constitution is for everybody. I’m Mike Farris.
