Why the Smithsonian Should Acquire Khirz Khan’s Pocket Constitution

In Mr. Khan’s interview on NPR I came to see how profoundly felt his feelings for the United State’s Constitution are. Overcome with the emotion of the ideas it embodies, he struggled to read aloud the words from the 14th Amendment, the foundation of so much of America’s long arc toward justice, and then he said:

Each and every citizen of this country — men, women, children, immigrants, Muslims, Hindus, all religions, all faiths, all genders — everybody is impacted by these 45 words of the Constitution.

Ratified in the wake of the Civil War, even the 14th Amendment struggles to meet its mark — excluding “Indians not taxed” and basing its mechanics on the counting of male citizens. But that voice of justice that Mr. Khan was so inspired by, now one hundred and fifty years old, is still the basis of our foundational arguments as a culture — the civil war we are still fighting.

That Mr. Khan’s speech has had such a deeply partisan impact in the moment is irrelevant to its cultural significance. His profound transformation of grief into voice is alone powerful enough — the loss of their son and his son’s service touched so many beyond any allegiance to party.

As important as it was to transform his grief, what shook in his voice as he stood on that stage was a voice above the fray, a voice that said, “This! These ideas matter. Read them, learn them, follow their spirit.” In doing so, he made his voice clarion, and called out from that place of inspiration, the out-breath of those who yearn to breathe free.

And that’s why his pocket Constitution is a national treasure. Referring to his copy, he said:

It’s all worn out, and there are marks and, you know, highlights.

How much like the original that is.