Darren Guerra, a political science professor at Biola University, spoke at the 2014 Ronald Reagan Symposium honoring the 50th anniversary of former President Ronald Reagan’s speech “A Time for Choosing” on October 27, 1964.

Guerra was invited to speak at the symposium after publishing his book this fall titled,“Perfecting the Constitution.” The book addresses the impact that Article V, which allows amendments, can have on the U.S. Constitution.

“Reagan believed in the ideas and the principles of the American founding,” said Guerra in his speech. 

“He knew a Constitution ignored or simply altered when inconvenient was simply a constitution with no authority.”

Regent University hosted the event, which was broadcast on C-Span and featured seven speakers from all over the nation. The event focused on Reagan’s ideas during his presidency, and whether those ideas foreshadowed the current threats to our nation’s liberties. Guerra discussed Reagan’s decisions and principles regarding the defense of the Constitution.

“The book [“Perfecting the Constitution”] argues that the founders design for formal amendments to the Constitution is the only way to perfect and ultimately preserve our Constitution, and that informal elite adaption will eventually lead to the destruction of our cherished written Constitution,” said Guerra.

Guerra will also be writing a book chapter titled “Preserving the Constitution: Reagan's Defense of Ordered Liberty” for an edited volume on the Constitution. The chapter will examine three ways Reagan sought to preserve the Constitution during his eight years in office. 

Watch Guerra’s speech at the symposium: http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4487326/darren-guerra.

Written by Molly Magee, media relations intern. For more information, contact Jenna Bartlo, media relations specialist, at 562.777.4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.