David Rubenstein on 250 Years of American Civic Virtue

What led David Rubenstein – owner of the Baltimore Orioles, former chairman of the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian – to send copies of the Declaration of Independence to every major pro sports stadium in America? In this Bowe Stewart Lecture hosted by the University of Chicago Graham School, Rubenstein – co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, original signatory of the Giving Pledge, and current chairman of the University of Chicago board – discusses what he calls patriotic philanthropy. He has said his interest in public service began at age 11, when John F. Kennedy waved at him from a campaign car driving through his Baltimore neighborhood. The son of a postal worker who went on to become deputy domestic policy adviser to Jimmy Carter at 27, Rubenstein argues that Americans have lost touch with their founding documents and their basic civic literacy, and that private citizens have an obligation to help rebuild what has been allowed to decay. Rubenstein recounts the Sotheby's auction where he bought the only copy of the Magna Carta in the United States, the call he placed to the National Park Service to fund repairs to the Washington Monument after the 2011 earthquake, and the new underground education center opening at the Lincoln Memorial. He explains why he is distributing reproductions of the Declaration of Independence to every MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA stadium, every American embassy, and every state governor, and why he bought the Baltimore Orioles to revive the city where his parents are buried. He observes that 91 percent of foreign-born applicants pass the U.S. citizenship test while a majority of native-born Americans in every state but one fail it, and that history as a college major has collapsed from 9 percent in his student years to roughly 1.5 percent today. Turning to the structural problems facing the country at 250, Rubenstein argues that campaign finance is the root cause of congressional dysfunction and describes the monthly bipartisan dinners he hosts at the Library of Congress as one of the few places members from opposite parties still talk privately. He addresses 18 percent adult functional illiteracy, a fertility rate of 1.6 against the 2.1 replacement level, the case for immigration, and rising income inequality under capitalism. He ranks Abraham Lincoln and George Washington as the two greatest American presidents, traces the chain of small decisions that left Lincoln unguarded at Ford's Theatre, and points to former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke as a model of the humble leadership the country still needs. Along the way he tells stories about Mark Zuckerberg and an early pass on Facebook, his years chairing the Kennedy Center, and his son in law joining Moderna years before its IPO. Key questions explored in this conversation: · Why does owning the original of a historic document change how Americans relate to their history? · What does the gap between immigrant and native-born performance on the U.S. citizenship test say about civic education? · How has the rise of money in politics reshaped what members of Congress actually do with their time? · What made Lincoln and Washington great, and which living leaders carry on that humility? · What obligation do corporations, capital allocators, and individual citizens have to give back to the country that enabled their success? 0:00 Welcome and introductions 6:27 Growing up in segregated Baltimore 10:43 From Ted Sorensen to the Carter White House 15:49 Buying the Magna Carta at Sotheby's 18:07 Putting history in front of Americans 25:27 Why he bought the Baltimore Orioles 27:54 Why Americans no longer trust Washington 34:51 Why we celebrate 1776 39:18 The fading American Dream 43:28 What made Lincoln and Washington great 53:39 Studying history and children's health 1:02:22 If he were mayor of Baltimore 1:05:58 Presidential power and the Oval Office 1:14:07 Arts funding and closing thoughts About the Speaker David M. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, which manages $465 billion across 27 offices. A Baltimore native and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he is principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles and chairs the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, and the University of Chicago. He served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy under Jimmy Carter, hosts The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg and PBS, and is the author of five books, four of them New York Times bestsellers. He is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School. About the Graham School The Graham School is the University of Chicago's home for lifelong learning, offering adult learners programs in the Great Books, the liberal arts, and advanced leadership. One of the first university extension schools in the country, Graham has been part of the University since its founding in 1890. Learn more: https://graham.uchicago.edu/