Day: June 22, 2018
Other Voices | Tom Callaghan: What’s the Problem?
Posted on June 19, 2018
Is it not enough outrage or not enough responsibility? Or both?
The answer is both.
Benjamin Franklin pointed us in the right direction on September 17, 1787. The Constitutional Convention had just concluded its work. A citizen called out to Franklin as he was exiting the hall
…”what have you given us Dr. Franklin?” Franklin’s response, “a Republic, if you can keep it.”
What Franklin was saying to his questioner is that the Constitution is the beginning of the American experiment, not the end. If the people who hold power act in such a way that is, far and away, contrary to established American values and our sense of right and wrong it is the duty of the populace to become outraged and take responsibility for what they find to be outrageous and, in so doing, change it or end it.
It all comes down to whether you think it’s your country, as much as anybody else’s, and if you do, whether you’re willing to miss a gym workout or yoga class (or, in my case, a Martini) to actually do something about it. Continue Reading……..