Very often when people who have been oppressed for many years finally gain freedom from their oppressors, they find themselves at a loss to proceed wisely from that point. They may be unable to form a coherent voice to facilitate progress, or they may take on the attributes of their former oppressors, but they only rarely hit upon the right combination of wisdom and dynamic vision. We did, but it remains to be seen if that magical combination will continue to guide us into the future.
Yes, it's an overdone topic and often twisted to fit whatever cause du jour, but as on previous eves of this special day, I find my mind wandering to a time of real peril and boundless hope:
Among the most formidable of the obstacles which the new Constitution will have to encounter may readily be distinguished the obvious interest of a certain class of men in every State to resist all changes which may hazard a diminution of the power, emolument, and consequence of the offices they hold under the State establishments; and the perverted ambition of another class of men, who will either hope to aggrandize themselves by the confusions of their country, or will flatter themselves with fairer prospects of elevation from the subdivision of the empire into several partial confederacies than from its union under one government.
I think it's important for all of us to remember that our founding fathers had a very keen understanding of the potential hazards of leaving men of power to their own devices. It would be well to remember that, even though our sitting President has made a mockery of our Constitution for seemingly selfish and short-sighted goals, even a good and wise man should respect the balance of powers that were (and are) so important to our system of government:
In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.
It would be an even greater outrage if, due to our current President's continued disdain for both the People, their representatives in Congress and the Constitution itself, the spirit of the Executive is permanently changed by his (mis)behavior. This must not be allowed to happen.
Thanks in no small part to our President's excesses, there has been a fundamental shift in the way Americans view the government. The Democratic party has been asked by the People to bring balance, compassion and wisdom back to the halls of power. This is not just a game, it's an incredible responsibility. Business as usual is not what they want, and attacking the Republican party in public while working the same old deals in private is not what they want, either. Don't forget:
Who are to be the electors of the federal representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, more than the humble sons of obscurity and unpropitious fortune. The electors are to be the great body of the people of the United States.
We need to make sure, when the voters go to the polls next year, that they can still tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
note: I am well aware that some (many?) here don't look too fondly on the use of the Federalist Papers to define what it means to be an American. All I can say is: sue me, okay? :)
You know what? Forget I said that. I can't even afford to call an attorney on the phone, much less actually hire one.