I was befuddled throughout the recent campaign season as conservatives increasingly brought up the Declaration of Independence as our founding document.
Gary Hancock's letter caused my light bulb to come on, as he explicitly extols its uncompromising nature in declaring independence from a tyrannical mother country.What Hancock and his conservative cohort intentionally ignore is the fact that our real founding document, the Constitution, was an unending exercise in compromise.The federal system balancing the desires of the Federalists, championed by Alexander Hamilton, and the states' rights faction, led by Thomas Jefferson and his companions, was a major compromise created out of necessity by a brilliant Connecticut delegate, Roger Sherman.The Electoral College was a compromise to balance the electoral power of small and large states. The bicameral Congress was a forward-looking compromise between the individual citizens and the states, and between the passions of the moment and the longer-term needs of the nation.And the ability of We the People to amend the Constitution was a compromise between the knowns of the present and the unknowns of the future.Responsible governing demands compromise.-- Mark Greene, Fort WorthHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
