If You Can Keep It

If You Can Keep It

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia was shrouded in secrecy.  Gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, a loose agreement which held the fledgling United States together, the delegates quickly realized that they needed a more binding document and a more formal form of government. Windows were shut and so were the delegates mouths. Nothing leaked out.

Eighty-one-year-old Ben Franklin sat with the delegates. When the convention ended, a lady approached Franklin as he left the convention hall, “Well, Doctor, what have we got a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Many today mistakenly believe that the United States is a democracy. The nation was founded as a republic, a government in which the people are represented by elected officials, “whose wisdom,” as James Madison put it, “may best discern the true interest of the country.” The founders lacked trust in the people’s abilities to make wise decisions as they would in a true democracy. Revolution was brewing in France and the founders feared mob rule.

Many voters today believe that their interests are not represented. They feel that lobbyists and the “one-percent” hold more sway with politicians than the average voter — even when those voters come out in force. How many “million-people” marches have been met by silence from elected officials? Phone calls, letters, and emails from constituents seem to be ignored. Many Americans are losing faith in their elected officials. 

The power of the vote seems to be waning so many opt out from voting. Young people especially have given up. The 24-hour news cycle reports leaks, allegations, arguments, disgraces, and “alternative facts,” which discourage voters. Wisdom seems to be seriously lacking in many of our elected representatives. Many have lost hope in our governments’ ability to serve its people. 

How has this happened? We look for someone to blame. It’s crooked politicians. No, it’s lobbyists serving private-interest groups. No, it’s the elite, the wealthy, the (fill in the blank with the group you despise most). We look everywhere but in the mirror. Benjamin Franklin’s answer to his curious questioner was, “A republic, if YOU can keep it.”

Keeping a republic is the responsibility of citizens. We must choose representatives with wisdom. That means researching issues, knowing what you believe, seeking candidates who represent your point of view, and getting out the vote — yours and others who want the same outcome you do. Never forget that the politicians you dislike were voted in. Wise representatives must be sought and elected.

Benjamin Franklin sat through four months of arguments, proposals, revisions, and compromises before our national constitution was accepted by the delegates. On the final day, Franklin pointed to the back of the convention’s president’s chair where an artist had depicted a sun and commented: ”I have often ... in the course of the session ... looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun." The rising or setting of our nation depends on its citizens. Vote.