Our Benjamin Franklin Moment

"Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"

CARROLLTON, TX - Cradle of Civilization (GLOB) - September 17, 1787. Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Many will know his response, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

A republic, if you can keep it. - Benjamin Franklin, 9/17/1787

I highly encourage people to read this article: Perspectives on the Constitution: A Republic, If You Can Keep It

The author of the article, Dr. Richard Beeman, has an important observation:

The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health. (Emphasis mine)

Absolutely dependent. Informed. For their continued good health.

I want to look at two things and make a point.

1st thing, January 6, 2021.

January 6th we should all be familiar with. There is a lot of what I am going to call the fog of battle surrounding this event. But a few things stand out. When Trump told the rioters to go home, they went home. He could have told them to go home hours earlier. However you slice it, there was a group of people who believed they were following Trump’s bidding. At 12:53 p.m. rioters overran the perimeter of the Capitol building. At 2:06 p.m. they entered through the Columbus Doors.

What did Trump do? Well, he tweeted:

“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

This was sent at 2:24 p.m. local time. While the rioters were in the Capitol.

At some time I have not been able to pinpoint, rioters were shouting “Hang Mike Pence.” We must ask ourselves, what would have happened if they had gotten ahold of Vice President Pence?

Can we stop for a moment and let the reality of this sink in. Rioters, breaking into the Capitol, shouting “Hang Mike Pence.” I have not seen a lynch mob up close. I have seen the videos. It is scary. Let it sink in. Something republic altering was very close to taking place. And it is as if no one really cares.

What was Trump’s end game here? Does he even know? Or was he simply caught up in the moment like Caesar in the Forum, filled with blood lust?

Trump did not see the rule of law as something that should stand in the way of his re-election. And the January 6th rioters are guilty of insurrection. And a government put in place through an insurrection is no longer a republic.

We should also acknowledge the Hero of January 6th, Mike Pence, who stated in a letter to Congress:

"It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,"

Know this. Pence risked his life to preserve our republic. This has not received near the attention it deserves. I have deep admiration and respect for a true patriot.

2nd thing, September 25, 2024.

What am I referring to from September? You’ve probably seen the headlines. Here is a screen shot from a Google Search:

And here is the context: SDIM 2024 - It’s Not Easy Trading Green - SDIM stands for Sustainable Development Impact Meetings. It is over an hour long, so you can jump to the times that follow.

Starting at 44:28 through 48:35, Kerry responds to a question from the audience regarding the role of chronic misinformation on the solutions in the marketplace.

Some snippets (italics are my editorial asides):

It’s really hard to govern today (because, you know, laws and stuff)

referees eviscerated (speaking about those who monitor and approve information having lost power due to social media not playing nice and being hard to control)

people self-select their news (how dare they?)

hard to combat disinformation (disinformation is in the eye of the beholder, but trust the government because thinking is hard and you have tired-head and just want another taco)

how to curb those entities (shut down the inconvenient news sources)

we need to win the right to govern, free to implement change - democracies are very challenged right now (by the limits on their power)

Moderator says, “your questioning really will democracy (sic) can survive unregulated social media” (democracy will not survive regulated social media)

Democracies are very challenged right now and can’t move fast enough (to save the environment, the focus of this particular panel. So, just trust the power mad to fix everything, and here’s your football game, ooh is that Tay Tay?)

The most direct statement that is being repeated by all the outlets listed above:

“But look, if people only go to one source, and the source they go to is sick, and, you know, has an agenda, and they’re putting out disinformation, our First Amendment stands as a major block to be able to just, you know, hammer it out of existence.”

My first thought on that is “Good Job First Amendment!” My second thought is people should not get their news from one source. That’s simply lazy.

Now my point.

The Constitution of the United States stands in the way of power grabs by power hungry individuals. BY DESIGN. Do you want to continue to live in a republic? You should. We are facing a Ben Franklin moment. I’m not just talking about this election. I’m talking about the next 20 years or so.

Will we keep the republic?

We cannot continue to put people in office based on the most vague and cursory understanding of what these people stand for. We cannot just vote for whoever emotionally mobilizes us. Being an informed citizen is hard work. Are we up to the task? It’s not looking good at the moment.

Do the work required to elect better candidates. Be informed. Look at the big picture and don’t let yourself be manipulated by emotional appeals to your base instincts.

Think. Pursue Truth.