n September 17, 1787, the last day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin said that for the whole summer, he had been observing the decorative design on George Washington’s chair—it was an image of the sun on the horizon. Now, as he contemplated the successful work of the Convention, Franklin remarked, “I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”
Nearly a quarter–millennium later, we should still be optimistic that the sun is rising on our democratic republic. To be sure, the United States faces challenges, some of them serious. Yet at the same time, this is the safest, richest, freest place in the world today. We can scan the globe: Where better to live? Where better to build a future? Where better to invest? Of the ten largest companies in the world, measured by market capitalization, eight are American. That’s worth pausing over: The U.S. has only about four percent of the world’s population, and yet 80% of the biggest companies.
Some might immediately object that business and economics is not the best way to judge the health of our democracy. And that’s fine, because this country also stands for diversity of thought and freedom of expression.
Yes, we have long been the most tolerant of nations, and that’s another virtue. Back in 1790, President George Washington set the tone, writing to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, envisioning an America where “every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
From our secure position, in which Americans enjoy freedom from fear, in which our rights are secured and enumerated, we can each take notice of the motes, or even the beams, in the national eye. That’s another aspect of freedom: the right to criticize.
I’m mindful of Gallup data showing a decline in trust in American institutions. Maybe that’s a bad thing, but maybe, in a way, it’s a good thing. That’s because trust shouldn’t be presumed, but rather, earned. So maybe this is a needed signal to us that there is room for institutions to improve.
In any case, my optimistic reading of American history is that a weakening can be the prelude to a new strengthening.
So long as people are free, operating within our constitutional framework, we can peer past the clouds and see our rising sun.
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Future of U.S. democracy is brighter than you might think
New York City skyline at sunrise. Image by Pierre Blaché from Pixabay.
August 14, 2024
While faith in institutions is dwindling and many are discussing a crisis in democracy writ large, democracy’s present and future are stronger in the U.S. than many think, writes Elizabeth Dial Pinkerton.
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n September 17, 1787, the last day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin said that for the whole summer, he had been observing the decorative design on George Washington’s chair—it was an image of the sun on the horizon. Now, as he contemplated the successful work of the Convention, Franklin remarked, “I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”
Nearly a quarter–millennium later, we should still be optimistic that the sun is rising on our democratic republic. To be sure, the United States faces challenges, some of them serious. Yet at the same time, this is the safest, richest, freest place in the world today. We can scan the globe: Where better to live? Where better to build a future? Where better to invest? Of the ten largest companies in the world, measured by market capitalization, eight are American. That’s worth pausing over: The U.S. has only about four percent of the world’s population, and yet 80% of the biggest companies.
Some might immediately object that business and economics is not the best way to judge the health of our democracy. And that’s fine, because this country also stands for diversity of thought and freedom of expression.
Yes, we have long been the most tolerant of nations, and that’s another virtue. Back in 1790, President George Washington set the tone, writing to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, envisioning an America where “every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
From our secure position, in which Americans enjoy freedom from fear, in which our rights are secured and enumerated, we can each take notice of the motes, or even the beams, in the national eye. That’s another aspect of freedom: the right to criticize.
I’m mindful of Gallup data showing a decline in trust in American institutions. Maybe that’s a bad thing, but maybe, in a way, it’s a good thing. That’s because trust shouldn’t be presumed, but rather, earned. So maybe this is a needed signal to us that there is room for institutions to improve.
In any case, my optimistic reading of American history is that a weakening can be the prelude to a new strengthening.
So long as people are free, operating within our constitutional framework, we can peer past the clouds and see our rising sun.
