The Loss of a Republic?

By Pat Boone

At the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, it’s reported that a
lady approached the venerable Benjamin Franklin and asked, “Well, Doctor, what
have we got? A republic or a monarchy?”

And the grand old man responded gravely, “A republic—if you can keep it.”

You may have heard that quote before, but have you asked yourself just what
Ben Franklin was getting at? Well, the long, tiresome, and often contentious
convention had almost ended with nothing, with members going back to their home
states angry and bitter. In the midst of apparent breakdown and failure, it was
Franklin himself who stood up and proposed that starting the next morning, the
convention should open with prayer and a sermon, because it was obvious that
their momentous objective could not be achieved without the direct intervention
of God, the One all the attendees credited with their very existence.

And starting from the very next day, after the morning prayers and sermons,
the Constitution was brought to final form and agreed to. It was unlike any
document in history, purporting to guarantee every citizen equality,
possibility, security, and liberty. There would be no monarch, no despot, no
ruling cabal. No segment of American society would be able to impose its will
unchecked. The freedom to worship, to speak freely, to dissent or to promote
would be available to all; the elected would govern with the consent of the
governed. And this whole mighty enterprise would be held together by respect
for, and obedience to, law—law based on the Constitution itself and managed by
the collective will of the people.

The word for that fabulous concept is “republic.”.….more