{"id":1059,"date":"2019-07-04T07:46:24","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T14:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2019-07-04T07:46:24","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T14:46:24","slug":"the-work-before-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/?p=1059","title":{"rendered":"The Work Before Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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July 4th<\/sup> 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve score and three years ago our fore fathers brought\nforth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the\nproposition that all are created equal. I ask you to reflect today on the past\nwork done, the work at hand and the work before us, that we may continue to\nreap the blessings of liberty. For work it is to maintain this republic. And I\npropose that we are called to do this work. We must so resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rumored and actually documented exchange\nfrom 1787 exists that sounds almost like a Facebook post or Twitter exchange\nfrom today. After independence was won, the states chose an initial attempt at\ngovernance under the Articles of Confederation. This held states together but\ngave no power to an authority to make them cooperate. All could see how such a\nloose confederation was failing. And there were significant threats close by. So,\na convention of the states was called to craft a \u201cbetter solution\u201d. It was a\nhot spring and summer in Philadelphia, a stifling hall, and heady discussions.\nThe delegates came and went daily. Imagine, a frustrated Benjamin Franklin,\ndoddering, a wobbly man, leaving the hot and stuffy Independence Hall where the\nframers had been arguing for three months. A passing lady asked him, \u201cDoctor Franklin,\njust what sort of government have you fashioned for us, a monarchy or a\nrepublic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He replied, \u201cMadam, a republic; if you can\nkeep it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 He knew, they all\nknew back then, this would be hard work. I doubt they envisioned global\nwarming, the internet, or a world population of 9 billion people. But they knew\npeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Constitution was passed\nby the delegates, state conventions needed to ratify. The Federalist Papers\nwere persuasion pieces by Hamilton, Madison and John Jay to convince, the State\nof New York, the big dog in New England to come on board. Here from Federalist #51 on how the Constitution protects\nus, mainly from ourselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is of great importance in a republic not only\nto guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one\npart of the society against the injustice of the other part. Different\ninterests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens. If a majority be\nunited by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The argument the Federalist Papers were\nmaking is that we can build a structure, a set of laws we agree to, that will\ndirect our different and varied interests to serve the common good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have much work before us to maintain\nthis republic. We have societal problems to solve and budgets to balance. Our\nfounders knew we were just people, not special, of course we would have\n\u201cdifferent interests and be in different classes\u201d. But they believed, as I do,\nwe were then and now are equal to the task. May we know the worth and dignity\nof all as we work to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Form a more perfect Union,   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establish Justice,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insure domestic tranquility, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provide for the common defense,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promote the general welfare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To secure the blessings of liberty for\nus and our posterity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May it be so. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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