It was a terribly hot in Philadelphia in September, 1787 when a roomful of men were trying to create the Constitution for the new country. Maybe the most important meeting in American history. Eighty-one year old Ben Franklin was a delegate. One of his contributions was setting up the two houses of congress. The House of Representatives based on a state’s population and the Senate where every state gets equal representation. Every day he noticed a carved sun on the back of Constitutional Convention president George Washington’s chair. He wondered whether it was rising or setting as a foretelling of the country’s future. James Madison said at the close of the convention, Franklin told him, “I have looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I know that it is a rising sun.”
The country has survived other critical moments in an our history when strong, moral leadership saved us from that setting sun. Washington leading us into the unknown when we didn’t know if the great experiment would survive. Lincoln fighting to save the country from destroying itself in the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt telling the country “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” in the worst Depression in our history. These men were one of a kind. But they illustrate the need for leaders who put the welfare of the country before themselves and their political gain. As we come to the close of a tumultuous year, we again will be looking to see whether the sun will be setting or rising.
Half the country is angry and fearful of what’s to come. The other half is hopeful the radical direction of the country will make life better for all those who feel they haven’t been heard. The country gets the leadership it has chosen. We managed to get through Trump before. This time may prove to be much more difficult. He’s out for his own revenge first. He picked a collection of the worst group of people to carry out his plan to make America great again. We all know them by now. Most unqualified, promising to do Trump’s bidding. This time he is surrounding himself with people whose loyalty to him is the first qualification for the job.
Even former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hates Trump, but enabled him to take over his beloved Republican Party and voted twice against convicting Trump after he was impeached. In a recent interview, McConnell warned, “We are in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War II. Even the slogan is the same, “America First”, that was what they said in the thirties.” In the thirties, many people didn’t want to get involved in the trouble around the world as Hitler rose to power. But, McConnell didn’t have the backbone to stand up to Trump. He voted for him every time.
The country and the world enter the new year with fear and hope. In his last inaugural address, one of the worst in history, Trump spoke of “American Carnage”. He said the country was in dire trouble and only he could fix it. He claims things are even worse now. He has fooled the majority of us. We are getting the country we deserve. If Franklin was looking out at the horizon today, I wonder how would see that sun.
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