a commentary

  There have been many commentaries written over the years. The most famous ones being written about Socrates and the thoughts he expressed. It occurred to me that many of my blogs have become commentaries. I have taken to commenting about my own thoughts. I guess I would have to admit that is because I'm not really listening to anyone else. What I mean is, commenting on what others think. Well, the fact is I have never been much of a follower. I'm certainly not a leader either. I fall somewhere in-between. I might or might not, depends. I like to think of that as being independent. But I also realize no man is an island entire of itself. The struggle between the two challenges our sanity. Extreme emotions are the cause of insanity. Too much or too little. 

  Understanding that I believe the country as a whole is tottering on the brink of insanity. We are certainly in an emotional period in American history. With all the protests, the political climate and social upheavals that can't be ignored. It was during just such a time that the revolution and the civil war began. There are murmurs of just that once again. It isn't so much the political changes as the social ones that are causing the largest rift. The pendulum has swung both ways over the years and through each election cycle. That is expected, anticipated and complained about. Each administration making a correction. But the social changes are far more disturbing. That is why we hear about losing the nation. It is the loss of an ideal that we are talking about.

  The American Republic is that ideal. It was formed through years of conflict, composed and codified by the greatest minds the world had to offer. Idealistic, yes, they were. They had all the confidence, the hope, and the belief that they would succeed. The average age of those considered to be the founding fathers was forty-four. It was wide range however with Franklin being seventy and Thomas Jefferson thirty-three. James Monroe was eighteen and Alexander Hamilton twenty-one. Young and old united for the cause. That isn't the case today, not by a long shot. Back then the young people were picking up the torch of the "old" people, carrying their ideals forward. The opposite is true today with so many of the younger statesman attempting to dismantle, rewrite and destroy the very republic that placed them in power. There is no unified effort.

  Consider the opening lines from that most famous of documents, the Declaration of Independence. "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another" Notice they are talking about political bands, not social ones. It is the political bands that most affect our ability to make a living, affecting our "quality of life," a modern phrase meaning the pursuit of happiness. There were no big societal upheavals, quite the contrary. Custom and tradition were being honored not rejected. 

  Yes, there was unease with some policies regarding human rights. It's important to remember slavery was never codified in our constitution, rather left to the individual states to decide. That was done as a compromise during the constitutional convention. There were many comprises made to get that document written and signed. It took an additional five years and nine months for that document to be ratified! The federalist papers were published explaining exactly what the constitution was proposing. It wasn't just a document composed in three months and that was it. It was a document to dissolve those political bands that tied many to the wealth, the power and privilege of the British Empire. Like a child leaving home, the United States would go it alone. It became a united effort. 

  Today we are facing the social issues. That is what is causing the divide. Politics is concerned with the decisions made by a society. Attempting to define exactly what politics entails is a bit more difficult. The ancient Greks struggled with that, Aristotle and Plato lectured extensively on that subject. Blackstone's commentaries on the laws of England were instrumental in forming our own concept of a republic. You can't have one without the other. Politics and societal norms are intermingled in the law. In our constitution we established a separation between church and state. The reason is obvious enough although in actual practice a bit problematic. It leads to social issues.

  Leaders, followers and independents. If asked most people will say they are independent. Independence is the ideal situation. The word itself explains that. I don't need anyone else; I can do as I please. But we know that is a fallacy, a thing of poetry as John Donne wrote. "No man is an island entire of itself." We are all a part of the whole. It is only by working together in concert that peace can be established. A common goal is necessary to the function of any government. What is the goal today? It is simply as it has always been, to live in peace, comfortably. That requires compromise and forgiveness.