A country built on compromise

Editor: Who are the Americans?

Recently, I was reminded of this question in a way that did not refer to any of the usual qualifications. No genealogy, no residency, no profession of loyalty, no ascendancy of argument, no possessor of rights, no receiver of benefits, and no believer of any kind. None of these would suffice.

The Americans are simply those whose commitment to personal unity is strong enough that their communal relations with others succeed in a seemingly impossible way. Like the members of the Constitutional Convention during the hellish summer of 1787. After months of dispute, it appeared that no agreement could be reached — that the new country must be stillborn.

Said Franklin:

“... we shall be divided by our little, partial, local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a bye-word down to future ages. And, what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing any government by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war and conquest.”

Whether the wisdom eventually reached by the group was human or divine, it was achieved only “in extremis,” at the point of fracture. No partial interest or point of view had prevailed. The validity of each had been acknowledged and accommodated.

Americans who practice these principles in their own lives can’t help wanting to share the blessings they find with their neighbors. In particular, the dignity bestowed upon them is truly seen as the inalienable right of all.

ROBERT PHILLIPS Lodi