WINNEMUCCA — I intended to write about Haiti and how fortunate we are to live in a country with such a strong infrastructure. Then I remembered in the US our bridges fall down for no reason whatsoever, except benign neglect, so I thought it best not to be so hoity-toity on the topic.
Instead, I’m addressing a question recently posed to Sarah Palin who was asked, “Who’s your favorite Founding Father?” To which she replied, “All of them … because they were so diverse.” Unfortunately she continued. Palin went on to note she admired the Founding Fathers because they found a way to come together and compromise on the issues despite their differences.
This caused howls of laughter from students of history around the country. “Diverse?” they snorted contemptuously, “Diverse as only a group of rich, white men can be.”
Oh, sure, they had differences. For example, some of them believed it way okay to own black people while others believed it was not okay. They compromised on the issue like this: the Southern Delegation said, “You will let us continue owning our black people or we will give you opportunity to fight a Revolution all by yourselves.” The Northern Delegation replied, “Oh. Okay.”
This method of diplomacy continued until 1861 when the Southern Delegation said, “You will let us continue owning our black people or we will leave the Union.” To which Abraham Lincoln famously retorted, “Wanna bet?”