To the editor:
As a member of the silent majority, I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all those men and women in uniform, past and present, who have served to protect our national sovereignty on behalf of all U.S. citizens.
On the last day of the Constitutional Convention, September 18, 1787, “A lady asked, Benjamin Franklin, what have we got a republic or a monarchy?”
Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic if you can keep it.”
As we approach the 250th anniversary of our constitutional republic, we would be wise to contemplate the freedoms we declare we are entitled to, such as the freedom of speech and the right to protest. These are privileges designed to be used judiciously, as intended under our Constitution.
If these freedoms are inverted and used for the sole purpose of attacking the framework of our Constitution and maligning our fellow citizens in uniform, then we do risk moving toward Benjamin Franklin’s prescient insight: “a republic if you can keep it.”
Our constitutional republic was built on the extraordinary sacrifice in blood and treasure of those who fought in the Revolutionary War, generations before us. They knew then the sovereignty of our nation state would require eternal vigilance by future generations. Today, our nation might be better off by finding ways to look beyond our political differences and coming together to serve the greater good.
May we honor those who have served to maintain the sovereignty of our nation and the freedoms we enjoy.
Lucinda Shmulsky
New Marlborough
Click here to read The Berkshire Edge’s policy for submitting Letters to the Editor.
