Livestream Lecture Restoring the American Dream

Livestream Lecture: ‘Restoring the American Dream’

By Big Island Now July 12, 2018, 9:48 AM HST (Updated July 12, 2018, 9:49 AM

The legacy of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye’s commitment to public service and civil engagement is perpetuated through the Daniel K. Inouye Institute (DKII) Fund, a program of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.

This year, DKII, together with the Library of Congress John W. Kluge Center, will host its fourth annual Daniel K. Inouye Distinguished Lecture Series on Thursday, July 19, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate the legacy and principals of the late Honorable Senator from Hawai‘i.

This year’s conversation, “Restoring the American Dream,” will feature E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Ross Douthat of the New York Times who will reflect on the origins of the “American Dream” and explore different ways conservatives and liberals imagine the future of the dream. Ann Compton, former ABC News White House correspondent, will moderate the event.

The idea of the “American Dream” was first used by James Truslow Adams on the eve of the New Deal and it has now become part and parcel of our political discourse. While it powerfully symbolizes the ideals of prosperity and opportunity, there is recognition across the political spectrum that the “American Dream” may be increasingly elusive, as many find it more difficult to make a living, to purchase real estate and sustain payments on a mortgage, or to receive a high-quality education.

The July 19 lecture will be held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Hawai‘i residents and the general public will be able to watch the lecture via livestream on the Library’s Facebook page and YouTube page starting at 12:30 p.m. HST. The conversation will also be live-tweeted by both the Kluge Center and the Inouye Institute’s twitter accounts: @KlugeCtr and @DKIInstitute using the hashtag #Inouye.

The lecture series is made possible through a generous donation from the Daniel K. Inouye Institute. Each year the lecture focuses on one theme that reflects Sen. Inouye’s legacy of public service and civic engagement. The full lecture series may be accessed on the Library of Congress website and video segments in downloadable learning supplements are posted to

DanielKInouyeLectures.org. The Senator’s congressional papers are also digitally accessible through an agreement between the Inouye Institute and the Library.

Inouye served as Hawai‘i’s first U.S. Representative and then as U.S. Senator for nearly half a century. A member of the Senate Watergate Committee and chairman of the Senate Iran-Contra Committee, he was a long-time member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chaired from 2009 to 2012. Sen. Inouye died in 2012. A veteran of World War II, Inouye was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his military service and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, becoming the first Senator to receive both the Medal of Freedom and the Medal of Honor.

The Daniel K. Inouye Institute was established in 2013 to preserve the legacy of Sen. Inouye; promote STEM education, civics learning and international educational-cultural exchanges; and establish a repository of the Asian American/Pacific experience. To learn more about the Inouye Institute and Sen. Inouye, visit DanielKInouyeInstitute.org.

The Kluge Center’s mission, as established in 2000, is to “reinvigorate the interconnection between thought and action,” bridging the gap between scholarship and policymaking. To that end, the Center brings some of the world’s great thinkers to the Library to make use of the Library collections and engage in conversations addressing the challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

About the Hawai‘i Community Foundation With over 100 years of community service, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) is the leading philanthropic institution in the state. HCF is a steward of more than 850 funds, including more than 250 scholarship funds, created by donors who desire to transform lives and improve communities. In 2017, HCF distributed more than $59 million in grants and contracts statewide, including more than $6 million in scholarships. HCF also serves as a resource on community issues and trends in the nonprofit sector.