Creative Writing

 We Americans are, above all, innovators. With the Pandemic we have created new, innovative responses to an evil virus. It has not been, however, the most innovative period in our history. That came immediately after 1776, when we declared ourselves free and independent from George III and the British empire. In THE WORDS THAT MADE US, by Akhil Reed Amar, the 800+ page book in which I have gotten to less than 200 pages and will be forced to return to the library this week, the former colonists of 13 separate states were suddenly tasked with bringing forth a state constitution. Collectively, they made several attempts. Proposed constitutions were widely published in the newspapers, and to a large extent, the writers copied from each other. It was a HUGE, unprecedented exercise in self-government. They were asking themselves and each other, what are the rules we are going to live by? How innovative can that be -- we get to establish the rules that are going to govern our lives. Talk about creative writing.