It's 52 words, and, says Bill Wilt, takes no more than 17 seconds to recite "at a reasonable pace."
It's the preamble to the Constitution, and the Waltham resident wants the City Council - along with other governments across the state - to recite it before every meeting.
Taking up Wilt's cause in Waltham is City Councilor at large Kathleen McMenimen, who filed a resolution in the council based on his idea.
"What I saw in (Wilt's) idea was everything that our government stands for and should be about, built into 52 words," McMenimen said.
She said the idea makes sense because councilors are already bound by oath to uphold the Constitution when they are sworn in to office.
"The law of the land that we follow is the U.S. Constitution," she said. Currently, council meetings begin with a prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and then a moment of silence for troops serving overseas.
If the council voted to accept the resolution and change its meeting rules, the recitation of the preamble would be added to that meeting ritual.
The council president could lead or appoint a another councilor to preside over the recitation of the preamble. The council could either recite the preamble in unison, or councilors could repeat the words after the council president.
Wilt, who is taking part in an effort he calls the Preamble Project, said he's also working to get the preamble recited at government meetings in other cities and towns as well as in schools.
PDF: Read the resolution Wilt said he's championing the effort because he believes there is a general lack of awareness among government officials and the public at large about what's included in the Constitution. He believes many public officials across the country aren't even aware they are sworn in to uphold its laws.
"The country is going to fall apart unless citizens and officials get on board to sticking to one set of rules," he said.
The Committee of the Whole will consider McMenimen's resolution on Monday. McMenimen said she asked the council to allow Wilt to speak on the subject.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
