Tomorrow is Election Day. Nearly every election season we hear the repetition of the phrase “This is the most important election of our lives.” Considering the dramatic attempts to fundamentally change the spirit and foundation of America - that statement does take on a sense of importance.
Our Founding Fathers:
On this Election Day, in particular, we should remember the intent of our Founding Fathers because I believe they would be appalled at the direction of this country and the growing idea that party affiliation supersedes being an America.
Our Founding Fathers led a revolution that declared independence from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin led a committee to explain the innate ideals for the new country. Those ideals included liberty, equality, and the right to have a government run by the citizens through representatives.
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton established a government that would recognize separation of powers and checks and balances to fight off any attempts of tyranny.
The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights established a self-government and dissolved the idea of a country run by a king. This was to be a country where the rights of individuals were honored over the dictatorial nature of a monarch.
So What If…
A letter was found that was written by our Founding Fathers to future generations of this new country about how they had fought to establish America. The letter explains their fears for the future with no knowledge of how the new country would evolve over time. What did that letter from our Founding Fathers tell us?
To The Future Generations of American From The Founding Fathers:
My name is Thomas Jefferson. I am writing this letter, along with James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. This letter is to the future generations of this new country - America.
During the Revolutionary War, which allowed us to declare our independence from the monarchy of Great Britain and establish our own government of the people, by the people, and for the people, 25,000 Americans died. Relative to the population at the time - the 25,000 killed represented how massive the bloody battles were that led to our independence.
But the battles were far from over. The battles went from the battlefields to Independence Hall in Philadelphia - where passionate Americans were involved in contentious debates reflecting a deep divide over how this country would be established.
We are writing this letter to future generations not knowing precisely how the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution will hold up with the unknown challenges of the future. We cannot predict exactly what lies ahead - so our concerns are real.
The deeply-debated documents establishing the framework for the new government of the United States of America were written in such a way that they would be elastic in their ability to be interpreted over time - regardless of the challenges the citizens of this country would face. We know it won’t be easy and if we were divided in the establishment of the key documents creating America - then we feel certain that there will be many threatening debates in the future and that the documents we created will be tested. But we have faith that the spirit of what we have established will live on and survive any challenges to the documents - or to the country.
James is particularly concerned about how The Constitution will hold up under the intense scrutiny it will certainly face. Far into the future - James is worried about the political challenges, as well as, the challenges of human nature and what Americans will fight over as time passes. His hope is that the body of work that he “fathered” will allow each generation to interpret it to fit the times in which the challenges occur.
As the Founding Fathers of America - our hope is that the massive bloodshed during the war that led to our declaration of independence over Great Britain and the intense debate from divided factions over the documents that establish the solid framework for this country - will not have been in vain. Our hope - and our intent - are that Americans will not be afraid to stand up to any threats of tyranny or any threats of a leader becoming so intoxicated with power that it threatens the very framework of America.
We know that America will undoubtedly go through cycles of good times and bad - whether economically or politically - but we have faith that America’s citizens will fight - as we did - to honor the spirit of this country’s concept.
The Second Amendment of The Constitution was put there for a reason - but it is our hope that the serious battles Americans face in the future will be with words - and not with guns. As we have seen society evolve toward more civility - we predict that American society will continue to evolve toward more civility.
In establishing a government of, by, and for the people - we trust that the 25,000 lives lost during our fight for independence and the days upon days of arguing and debating the framework of this country - that future American citizens will not allow the turmoil that ushered in a new country to be without merit.
It is our sincere hope that all American citizens will understand and accept the responsibility that their vote is the key to this country’s survival. It is their vote that will halt any attempts for any zealous leaders to use their power to take over America and defy the checks and balances we have established. If that should happen - we believe it will be because Americans lost interest in the process. If citizens become apathetic or distracted through the countless opportunities for entertainment or the quests for joy over making the effort to exercise their precious right to vote - America could fall prey to a dictator or a small, concentrated group obsessed with controlling America outside of the boundaries of the documents we have created to establish this country.
Voting for a political party over the best candidate could create an environment in which one party dominates and future leaders could use the perceived power of their party to disregard the spirit of the foundation of America.
While our faith is strong - we do have honest fears that citizens will forget about how and why this country started and will forget about the spirit and intent of the precious documents that establish the framework of America. We fear that America will become divided with both sides being convinced that their vision of America is the only right vision for America.
Should this happen - we remind future generations of Americans that we had our deeply divided battles over the direction of this country. But in the end - we compromised and we all didn’t get our way - we came together knowing that ideas from both sides were the only way to move forward and this was a better alternative to the monarchy from which we fled.
James, John, Alexander, Benjamin, and myself, Thomas - wish you the best and remind you that your vote is the weapon needed to fight for America. So please remember to study the candidates and judge the candidate you will vote for - not by their party affiliation - but by the character of the candidate.
As The Founding Fathers of America - we leave this country in your hands and that means that you must honor and exercise your right to vote.
