L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés

"Hell is full of good intentions"

By now you know I can't pass up the chance to take a deeper look at our English and its evolution. (Why 'our' English? Because a British friend of mine would publicly crucify me on my own blog if I tried to get away with assuming that British English and American English were the same thing. I would find myself on the "defence" for the indefensible.) You shouldn't be surprised then to learn the familiar proverb 'the road to hell is full of good intentions' has a simpler beginning; or that it is French in origin. History is replete with these adaptations.

So why the proverb? Because I believe that many Americans today are operating on the basis of good intentions gone bad. I know that isn't the case when it comes to the leadership, but my 'good intention' is to give the many the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps I will avoid that trip.

The anecdote goes that Benjamin Franklin, upon leaving Independence Hall at the close of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, was asked what form of government he had given us. His reply was "A Republic, if you can keep it." Those words ring truer today than at any time in our history.

I hear a lot about compromise these days. Every time I hear how the Republicans lost so they should compromise it reminds me of the time I stood alone on a vote. I argued my position as best I could but, in the end, I was the lone vote in opposition. Everyone else was upset with me for not agreeing with them and, truth be told, I was floored by their response. Somehow my business partners (it was a vote on the direction the company was to take) were of the opinion that, because they were in the majority, I should compromise my position so that the vote could be unanimous. It was an enlightening experience.

My point is this: some things you just can't compromise on no matter what. Worse, compromise just for the sake of compromise is just plain ignorant.

This country was founded as a representative Republic (a representative democracy in the form of a constitutional republic) not a direct democracy. The answer to why is straightforward: to prevent a tyranny of the majority. The powers of the federal government were enumerated. The federal government itself was broken into a triumvirate and specific checks and balances were put in place. The point of all this was to protect individual liberty and the rights of property. The United States of America is supposed to be a nation of laws, not of men.