Jon Meacham Reviewed “Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic” in the NYT Book Review this weekend. He helped highlight some of the book’s profound observations:
“America was constructed to foster arguments, not to settle them.”
“Modern political campaigns talk of revolution when in fact the founding gave us a nation that prefers evolution.”
“…while perfection may not be possible, progress is.”
“To transform disagreement from a natural source of strife into a source of stability was a crucial insight, and is arguably the great achievement of the Constitution. What frustrates the passionate about America — its creaky checks and balances, diffuse sovereignties and general aversion to sudden change — is, Ellis argues, what makes possible the triumphs we do manage to pull off.”
“Ellis shares the founders’ tragic sensibility, finding redemption in seeking the good rather than in achieving the perfect. The wisdom of the American founding lies in the recognition that the former is possible, and the latter is not.”
“The acknowledgment of limitation and the appreciation that the founders themselves purposely moved with caution is hardly the stuff that emotional Independence Day orations are made of, but they are essential truths about America’s beginning, and may help explain why our revolution worked when others failed. As Ellis says, “In my judgment the calculated decision to make the American Revolution happen in slow motion was a creative act of statesmanship that allowed the United States to avoid the bloody and chaotic fate of subsequent revolutionary movements in France, Russia and China.â€
“…one man’s obvious reform is another man’s nightmare.”
“Unlike mathematics, in politics there was no agreed-upon solution reached by sheer brainpower and logic,†Ellis writes, “but rather an ongoing and never-ending struggle between contested versions of the truth.†Making it up as one goes along, then, is in the best tradition of the American Revolution.”
“..what Adams’s generation did with its moment was to create the means by which subsequent generations, including our own, could argue about ends in a largely peaceable way.”
I see merits in most points of view. Generally I support the Democratic Party values, but hope for the frugality and efficiency I once thought was the domain of the GOP. Meanwhile what is important to me is nurturing a deliberative process that constantly enhances participation, diversity, experimentation, fairness, pragmatism, and all of the other qualities with which our founding fathers wanted to guide us – all of which I believe are the consequence of reforming our system of financing elections.
This week is Fair Elections Action Week aimed specifically at supporting the Fair Elections Now Act sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would allow for full public financing of congressional elections. I called my Congressman to ask for his support. Will you choose to be part of the solution, as well?
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.