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 Returning to Philadelphia
by Tom Campbell
April 5, 2007
Standing in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall I could almost imagine myself among those delegates sent by the various colonies to discuss the abuses of power by the English crown and Parliament. Those delegates met to consider how to address what they considered intolerable violations of their rights.
The Declaration of Independence they passed on July second was bold. Our grandchildren with us could recite many of their names. Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Hancock, Lee, and Washington. Hearing the guide tell once more the story of those times raised questions in my mind. Was this a case where a group of truly extraordinary people were brought together at a precise moment in history or was it more that a group of ordinary people rose to extraordinary heights at a time when they were needed?
We look at what they did and see delegates selfless in striving for the right, in recognizing the seriousness of their actions and in being willing to pay the supreme price of their lives and their fortunes. The common good was more important than their own wellbeing.
In that period, and for much of history, power passed from one person to another through bloodlines or bloodshed. The United States was a grand experiment to determine if power could be distributed and transferred peaceably. But so great was their distrust of people in power that they concocted a weak confederation, so weak that their grand experiment almost failed before it really started. I sat in the hall where another group of delegates convened, in secret, to form another government. To ensure there would never be another king, they designed three branches of government and delegated each with portions of the power so that checks and balances would prevent any future tyrannical abuses.
Two hundred years later we in North Carolina still struggle with many of these same issues of trust. We question whether those who lead us have the same passion for the common good and worry when we see evidence indicating that self interests prevail too frequently. We struggle with those who remain in power for so long or who appear to misuse their positions. The thread of public trust is fragile, easily broken, and hard to repair.
My family’s trip to Philadelphia was a reminder of the events and people who helped birth this country. You and I have been given a birthright and, while it wasn’t and isn’t perfect, this legacy is one worthy of the best in each of us.
How would these 18th century patriots say we were treating this legacy today? How are we standing for the common good? Are we jealous of giving too few too much power and holding them accountable for how they use it? Are we ordinary people rising to extraordinary heights? Do we continue to hold the truths self-evident that all are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? From time to time we all need to return to Philadelphia.
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