July 4, 2017

July Fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays.  As a patriotic. flag-waving democrat who loves her country (yes, we Democrats do LOVE our country and our flag) and its history and studies early American political history, early American Constitutional history and President Lincoln, I celebrate the birth of our country and the very beginnings of our republic.  Many people tend to think of the War for Independence in terms of the issue of taxation.  While that is true, that is not the only grievance the colonists had against King George III..  They also listed among their grievances that the King "refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good" and "excited domestic insurrections amongst us."  Once the colonists signed the Declaration and publicly declared independence, they were, of course, guilty of treason for renouncing the authority of the King.  The outcome of the war was not certain.  They faced a Royal military that was well armed and well trained.  If they were defeated, they could very well lose their lives.  As Benjamin Franklin wrote before signing the Declaration of Independence "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." 

Two hundred forty-one years later, we are nation questioning whether our Federal government and whether our Constitution are still strong enough to withstand the events taking place now.  There is an assault of the press from the office of the Presidency.  What are we to do about that?  Can that really happen?  Perhaps the answer can be found in the past, in the attempt by President John Adams to silence the press as well as any opposition to the Adams administration through the Alien and Sedition Acts which made any public negative commentary on the the Federal government illegal.   The Acts also made immigration and naturalization more difficult.  The Acts were enforced during Adams presidency, but effectively ended with the election of Thomas Jefferson.

Are we facing a moment in time when we, like the colonists, must form a new government through revolution?  No, despite how dire the situation may be or even seem to be, our Constitution, will continue to be strong enough to survive. We must remember that the Constitution is a document. a blueprint, for the way government ought to work.  But as we know all too well from our country's history, and from its Civil War, making government work as well as protecting and preserving the Union requires everyone's participation.  Members of Congress must understand that their oath of office to defend the Constitution must take prority over their allegiance to their party.  As Joan Walsh noted during her appearance on the Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on July 3, 2017, the framers of the Constitution never thought members of Congress would not do their job.  Anyone who might doubt Joan's assessment can read the James Madison authored Federalist number 10 in which Madison  wrote "When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens."  When that does not happen, then the voters must use the power they have been given to elect members of Congress who will do what is best for the country.

Two hundred forty-one years ago, a group of men were willing to risk their lives to give birth to our country.  One hundred fifty-six years ago President Abraham Lincoln accepted war to preserve our country, our Constitution and our Federal government.  On July 4, 2017, let us honor those who gave their lives and those who risked everything to create and preserve our country by holding our members of Congress accountable by demanding they protect and defend our Constitution, work together to pass laws which will do the most good for the most people and use our power to vote them out of office if they refuse.