As Benjamin Franklin was leaving on the final day of the contentious summer-long constitutional convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a lady named Elizabeth Powell asked him: “Well, Dr. Franklin, do we have a monarchy or a republic?” Franklin replied: “A republic. If you can keep it!”
This year will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and Franklin’s admonition is just as compelling today as when first spoken. It is a formidable warning that a self-governing republic is not guaranteed but depends on the ongoing vigilance, participation, and civic virtue of its citizens to remain free from tyranny. Our founding fathers understood that self-government is hard business. It requires citizens who know how their government works and who have the courage to hold their leaders accountable. We may not always agree about the right policies for the day, but we have the freedom – the obligation – to robustly debate competing ideas and values.
A government of and by the people presupposes that we the people should and can govern ourselves – and do so in peace and with mutual respect. Today, as perhaps never before in our nation’s history, open debate is threatened by a growing intolerance of opposing worldviews, especially Christian views, to the point of violence. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is perhaps the most poignant example.
As Lincoln put it, speaking to a war-torn republic: “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
Throughout much of my career as a constitutional lawyer, I have represented individuals who courageously stood in the public square, proclaimed their allegiance to Christ and were arrested or persecuted by those who condemned them for their ideals and hated them for their audacity to share them publicly. Currently, I represent a young man who was arrested and handcuffed in a public park when he refused to stop sharing the gospel with those who celebrated with “pride” their opposing views. Ironically, those who pressed the police for his arrest did so under banners that proclaimed a need for universal tolerance.
My friend and ardent champion of constitutional liberty, Dr. Carol Swain writes in her book Be The People: “Americans’ acceptance of cultural relativism has opened the flood-gates for many changes. Cultural relativism rejects absolute right or wrong, teaching that truth is valid only for a particular society at a given time. Acceptance of this worldview creates an environment in which tolerance is elevated as the highest virtue.”
There is room in the public square for freedom of expression for all competing ideals and worldviews. Indeed, acceptance of this foundational premise is vital to the preservation of our republic.
The challenges our nation faced in its infancy remain today. But we now have a long history in which contentious disagreement and factionalism has tested time and again our ability to survive these divisive winds. As we celebrate this momentous milestone, let us not only look to our past accomplishments, but to the future of a commitment to the preservation of our unique experiment in self-government founded on the consent of the people and a shared commitment to liberty for all.
Larry L. Crain, Crain Law Group, PLLC – www.crainlaw.legal
