Saturday, March 20, 2010

Studied Ignorance

Word is that the Congressional switchboards have been receiving more than 100,000 calls per hour...and that is since Thursday. Voicemail boxes are full. Email is overflowing. Fax machines are buzzing along. Through it all our elected represenatives are studiously ignoring the electorate. They seem intent on dismantling the last vestiges of the grand experiment which was the American republican form of government.

The Key Word Remains: Condescending

The story is often repeated of Ben Franklin emerging from the deliberations on our Constitution into the streets of Philadelphia. He was met by an older woman who asked him, "what kind of government have you given us, Mr. Franklin."

His reply was cryptic, "A republic, Madam. If you can keep it."

Until this blatant debacle we haven't fought to keep it. In fact we seem to have become quite aggressive in our desire to give it up.

Let us hope that it is not yet too late. Somehow I fear that it is.

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