We arrived in Philadelphia, PA on the heels of a swim in Manhattan. Contrasts abound: thousands of people milling about in the commercial glitz of Times Square, fifty or so loosely arranged in Independence Hall at the wellsprings of our governance; multi-story electronic ads giving way to churches and halls adorned with carvings and weathered over 200 years of time; din of taxi horns, music, and sidewalk sellers evaporating into quiet streets marked by subtle plaques noting the greatness of the people who lived and worked at our beginnings; millions of free people buying and selling in the shadow of skyscraper temples to material success; a few hundred milling about the Mecca of America. Nearly everything except the sounds and smells are for sale in New York. Sights and tours of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and environs are free.
We arrived in time for a tour of IH. I'm enriched by the guide's summation of the beginning of our history, in the rooms where we began. He pointed out where the framers of the Declaration of Independence sat in the room where it was conceived. As this and later the Constitution were written, he described how the process of open input, polarizing difference of opinion, and movement toward compromise characterized our governance from the very start.
As some members of Congress are making a show of standing on principal to the detriment of the country, it is clearer to me now why a certain kind of intransigence is out of rhythm with over 200 years of the substance of leadership and governance.
I think America would be stronger if every citizen spent twenty minutes in Independence Hall, with an open mind. I hope mine is more open than it was before.
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