(6/2023) The United States of America is celebrating its birthday soon, a worthy time to reflect on points in history that bring big changes.

Much recorded history exists about the American Revolution and the creation of our Constitution, a covenant between the Colonies to form a Union of States. It is all available to read via any public library, or the internet. The Colonists and the King experienced many years of disputes and insults, small and large, building to an irreconcilable situation—taxation without representation.

In this history there are a few well documented big moments that sealed the decision for individual Founding Fathers to rebel against the King. One such was Benjamin Franklin’s appearance before the Privy Council in London 1774.

By this time he was known as Dr. Franklin because of honorary doctorates for his scientific accomplishments from the University of St. Andrews and the University of Oxford. He was a prolific writer of commentary, had the job of American Postmaster, appointed by the British Crown, and was anxious to use his connections at home in America, and he was in London to be a liaison between fed up colonists and an immovable monarch. About a year earlier, a member of Parliament had given Franklin letters written by the Crown-appointed governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s letters outlined in detail how the King could subjugate the colonies with taxes and other penalties. Franklin sent the letters to an associate in Massachusetts, hoping to show that the King was being advised by Hutchinson, and maybe calm the revolutionary fever. And, he added, please don’t publish them. You can guess how that turned out. Almost instantly, there was a petition from the colonists to have Hutchinson replaced.

Government officials in England were furious that a governor’s letter had been made public. When it came out that Franklin was the one who leaked the letters, there was a call for him to come to the hearing for the petition to remove Hutchinson. The British officials running the hearing had a different purpose. There was no hearing on the merits of the petition or complaints about the Governor. The entire event focused on accusations of Franklin misusing personal letters (they weren’t) and fomenting rebellion (he wasn’t, yet). While Franklin stood absolutely still, one major player, solicitor general Alexander Wedderburn, spent an hour ridiculing Franklin and his character. There was no discussion of the complaints regarding the intensions of the governor. There was, again, no room for representation.

You can look at this from multiple points of view—taxation without representation, royal overreach. It was also a good old fashioned shunning. A cancellation, one of the oldest and simplest ways to thin the herd with which one has to engage.

It took the rest of 1774 for Franklin to organize his return to America. He arrived ready to articulate the concept of representation, and inspire revolution.

The American revolution happened because the colonies lacked representation in the British parliament. Not because their representation "sucked". The leadership of the colonies made compromises with each other to form a covenant, our Constitution.

One of the freedoms won for us is the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech is the freedom to tell our individual stories. Big or little. Famous or not.

There have always been people who want to control who gets to tell their own story. Right now there are people who would ban books, based on their personal opinion of who gets to tell their own story. In Frederick County, at least one Board of Education committee has been formed to literally read through books to determine whether to ban them.

Banning books is the dissemination of information without representation. Rebellion against book bans is a worthy endeavor. Banning books breaks our covenant with each other to give everyone a voice—to be represented.

Our country is today a place once again where factions want to control the rest of the population, or split the country. Whether it is telling people what they can read or another issue, this is more than shunning. It is breaking our covenant to give every citizen a voice.

The Founding Fathers did envision where we are now. We are exactly in one of the scenarios they envisioned. One faction wanting another to disappear. The Founding Fathers came from England and had direct family experience with two factions in their own country—Catholics and Church of England Protestants—who were killing each other since the reign of Henry XIII in the 16th century. Our founding fathers understood how to create a government flexible enough that we can save it. It has taken two over hundred years to approach the promise of the Constitution for all Americans. That is how we save it—continue to be inclusive.

We keep coming back to the middle ground, our melting pot. We live in the middle because that’s where a real life happens. Where you’re able to have a conversation with your neighbor, go to the store, go to school, go to work. You give room to everybody else to go to work, go to school, raise their kids. The world wants, needs, and, in the United States of America, actually has a place that cares about the rights of everyone to live in the middle.

We embrace it because it includes us, because in a melting pot no one gets shunned completely. You might make and lose friends. But with our melting pot of ideas, and regional and local cultures, there is always possibility for renewal.

We embrace the middle because when the rhythm life is flowing well, we have time to read books, lots and lots of books.

There are effective ways to work within the community to celebrate the 4th of July birthday of our Constitutional Covenant, support its principles, and our neighbors—participate. Show up for your community, get comprehensive history and civics classes prioritized in middle and high school, and don’t forget to vote.