BookHampton's Constitution Giveaway Inspires Hundreds

To help readers "remember our Constitution... and actively seek a better tomorrow," BookHampton, with locations in East Hampton, Southampton, and Sag Harbor, New York, took out a full page ad in the East Hampton Star that offered free copies of the Constitution and listed four ways to make a difference. "The constitution can't be looked at just once a year," said co-owner Charline Spektor. "We need to keep it alive."

The ad, which ran a week before the Fourth of July holiday, was a way to highlight how "really wonderful the document is," said Spektor. "It is truly the foundation of this country. Giving away the Constitution is really the best thing we can give away ... next to Shakespeare's sonnets." It's the second time the store ran a full-page ad and offered copies of the Constitution. Hundreds of people showed up for a copy.

By encouraging people to reread the Constitution, one of the things Spektor hoped to underscore was that the founding fathers formed the Congress at the outset of the document. "How many people know that in the first article, the very beginning, the first thing being addressed is the Congress? It doesn't establish the presidency first. And it's the Congress that establishes laws, so if people want to change something, they should talk to their representatives and senators."

In response to the giveaway and ad, numerous customers left notes and called Spektor at home to thank her. "People have told me that they've wondered what they can to do help, and the ad reminded them to just choose one area and do something."

In the ad, Spektor focused on four areas of concern -- rebuilding New Orleans, supporting wounded soldiers and stopping the war in Iraq, sheltering those whose lives have been devastated by violence and oppression, and global warming.

"I was tempted to include a whole battery of things you can do, but then it becomes wallpaper, and people feel totally overwhelmed," she said. "We decided to help by giving four good things people can do. Each addressed a different aspect of being an American citizen." The ad included the web addresses of the following organizations: Rebuilding New Orleans; The Armed Forces Foundation; The International Rescue Committee; and Information & Solutions to Stop Global Warming.

In the center of the page was a quote from Alice Walker: "When it is all too much, when the news is so bad meditation itself feels useless and a single life feels too small a stone to offer on the altar of peace, find a human sunrise."

Spektor noted that it's because of the Constitution, places like BookHampton exist. "The Constitution really establishes our concepts of bookstores," she said. "But people often miss how this ties together. This is the document than ensures that people can walk into bookstores and read books that represent hundreds of thousands of different opinions -- and not state sanctioned opinions. It's as or more important than the title to your car or your house. It's your title to this country." --Karen Schechner