I’ve been struggling with the concept “what a screwed-up country this is.”
I grew up believing this was the greatest country on Earth. I still think that while not perfect, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are the foundation that establishes potential for freedom and justice never before seen. The Founding Fathers struggled with pettiness and politics of their time but were able to reach compromise and put the birth of the nation above party and tribe. We would have no country if any one issue, principled or not, prevented them from finding compromise.
The branches of government provide checks and balances to help stay the course of a represented democracy. Sept. 18, 1787, the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Our nation is based on trust in our government, the elections and courts. Those that seek to destroy that trust are so corrupted they seek a despotic government. It’s not the country that has become “screwed up” but those who would sacrifice the republic to the cult of personality, money and power.
