The Relevance of Opinions

 I understand that people today are reluctant to sign their names to opinions in today's angry world.  I have blogged in the past about how I miss the days when we went to parties and argued politics but left at the end of the evening as friends.  What was essential to those arguments was the accuracy of the information about which we argued.  One would think that today we have access to even better sources for accurate information, but it seems to me that traditional correspondents like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite have been smothered by news filled with opinion rather than information.

Make sure you are getting aboard the right Band Wagon before getting aboard.

  There is little point in discussing politics with friends when both believe their source is the only accurate information in a world of so much misinformation, as well as so many people who no longer care about anything but the price of eggs.  The bird disease that required killing countless chickens to stop the spread is important, but it requires a government that relates the problem to making sure the disease is not spread to people rather than a government that spreads misinformation. 

My first responsibility as a young attorney was in a government office.  I remember my experience of creating forms that could be completed by typing in a few blanks.  The typists who had been stuck typing the page-long forms were thrilled with the amended forms, but their supervisor was furious.  She demanded that we go back to the old way of doing it--with my reading the entire form into the Dictaphone, the typist typing the entire document, and my having to proof the entire document to be sure there were not mistakes.  When I tried to explain how much more efficient the form would be, she furiously demanded that the old way of doing it be continued.  She refused to give me any reason why.

That example, although it occurred years ago, is an example of government waste, and soon after, I was recruited by a law firm and left the government position.  I hope my director resolved the unnecessary typing to relieve the typists from the wasted time of typing those boring forms.  In that case, it certainly was not the typists wanting to preserve a boring job.  There probably still are supervisor's wasting time to hold on to their jobs, and probably young attorneys who turn the problem over to their boss.  However, firing everyone in both offices would not have been the appropriate solution to the problem. Nor is it now! 

So, what does this have to do with the relevance of opinions?  The freedom we were given under our constitution requires responsibility.  Our leaders take an oath to the constitution, not to the person under whom they serve.  The Founding Fathers designed a system which is actually quite amazing in that it both gives and takes away power from each branch of the constitution.  I found it quite interesting in reviewing that remarkable American system of governing, and if you missed it last week, I hope you will read it.  However, it only works if those we elect are responsible enough to read and understand our Constitution and brave enough to do what they believe is right, not what they think they must do to be reelected.  

Many of us today, if not most, avoid discussing politics at parties.  Perhaps that is because we are more inclined to believe the other side is always wrong.  House leader Newt Gingrich was the Leader who made everyone sign an oath to always align with the party.  That was a bad decision, regardless of which party is in the majority.  If everyone in the party must vote the same, why do we waste time and money for voting and flying them back and forth from their homes to Washington.  If Senator Cassidy, a medical doctor, felt such concern about a candidate who does not believe in proven medical vaccinations and treatments, why was he pressured by his party into voting contrary to his own training and judgement.  Our system gave the President the right to select his choice, but the system also gave the members of the Senate the duty to decline to agree if they had cause.  That responsibility is one of the most important responsibilities of the Senate, and if they are compelled by others to ignore that responsibility, they are ignoring their oath to the Constitution.  The President might as well just select whomever he pleases.  

It is not just the roles those that we elect play, but also the responsibility we have in electing them.  The friendly arguments we were once able to have at parties mattered.   

The Wisdom of a Triangle

 

Look at the triangular shape of the image above and imagine the triangle as the three branches of our government--to the left the Legislative Branch, in the center the Executive Branch, and to the right the Judicial.  The point of the image I chose is the beauty and strength of a triangle as a symbol of the wisdom of our Founding Fathers.  

 

My blog of March 5th, 2025 made clear that the desire of the Americans was not a dislike of the British people.  In fact, they had family and friends there, they did business with the English, and sent their children to school there (if they could afford it).  It was the desire for independence as a free nation, not ruled by a king, that drove the desire for freedom.  

To achieve that, a new type of government was necessary.  That is how the structure of the triangle,  appeared.  They created The Legislative Branch, The Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch.  Each branch held power over the others in some way, but were also subjected to the powers held by the others.  

Here is how the triangle works.  The Legislative Branch has both the House and the Senate.  The House has 435 members, elected every 2 years, the number held in each state determined based on state population adjustments.  House members must be at least 25 years of age, a U.S. Citizen for at least 7 years, and a resident of the state they represent.  They introduce Bills and Resolutions, offer Amendments, and Serve on Committees, and they have the authority to impeach the President.  The Senate is also part of the Legislative Branch but is separate from the House.  There are 2 Senators from each state, regardless of their state's population.  They must be at least 30 years old and a citizen for at least 9 years.  They serve 6 year terms, with elections of 1/3rd of the Senators rotated to maintain experienced Senators.  They have the authority to not only approve or disapprove the President's nominations for his cabinet, they can overrule the President in certain situations, and should the House impeach the president, the Senate has the responsibility to conduct the trial and either dismiss or convict the President. 

As you can see, the Legislative Branch has powerful responsibilities, often influenced by whether they are majority or minority parties serving under a President. There are also differences in whether different parties have chosen to work with or ignore/oppose the other elected party members.  In recent years there has been less cooperation. 

The next part of the Triangle is the Executive Branch, which includes the President, Vice President, and his Cabinet, as well as government agencies.  The President holds important parts of the Triangle, but he is not a King, which of course was the whole purpose of the war with England.  There is no question that the President has significant powers, some of which are in question.  This blog is not my attempt to define those powers.  It is about reflection on the intentions and efforts of our Founding Fathers to create a Nation without Kings, with checks and balances to keep our precious nation on course.  The third branch in the triangle is the Judicial Branch.  Members of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President.

We tend to pay attention to the Supreme Court, however there are many Federal Courts that can be important on a national level. The United States Supreme Court is able to try only a small portion of cases sent to them on appeal.  Most are rejected, left for the rulings of the lower courts.  However, according to Sandra Day O'Connor, "Each year the members of the court must read the briefs in the 100 or so cases on which the court hears oral arguments.  After argument, the case has to be decided and explained in published opinion."  From her book, The Majesty of the Law.  I can only imagine the amount of responsibility on the Court today, nor am I familiar with the manner in which they try to perform those responsibilities.

In the Triangle of the Judicial Courts, from District Courts to Courts of Appeal, to the Supreme Court, I am generally proud of my profession as an attorney. Today, being a government judge is an ominous responsibility, and sometimes a dangerous one.  Members of the Supreme Court are not beyond disciplinary action, although it has almost never been applied.  I am troubled by some of the neglect of traditional rules of past members of the court, like dissociating themselves from tempting "gifts"' and obvious expressions of opinion by family members of some of the Justices.  But, I am proud of the responsibilities, discipline, and courage other judges, lawyers, witnesses, and members of juries have shown.  Without those courageous and disciplined people, there could be no third Triangle.    

             

 

 

Aesop's Fables

Do you think these children read Aesop's Fables?
Emerson Country School, Stafford County, Kansas

 It is said that Aesop lived 600 years before Christ, a dangerous time during which survival could be brutal.  It is interesting, however, how relevant his fables can be to modern situations.   Aesop used animals and humans as subjects.      

For example, when a monkey was chosen to become king because of his dancing, fox was angry and set up a trick to fool the new king with vanity.  "I am not worthy for this meat I have found, so I have saved it for you" the fox tempted the new king.  The foolish monkey rushed forward and was caught in the trap set by the fox.  "You tricked me," the monkey pouted.  "Yes," admitted the fox, "but do you really think someone with so little sense should be chosen to rule over us?  This is what happens when we make an important decision without thinking it through.  We bring trouble and ridicule on ourselves and the others who depend on us." 

Other times Aesop used humans to tell his fables, and one example was when a man approached him, asking if he might share his autobiography with Aesop.  Not only did the man read a lengthy portion but he also praised his own greatness.  When he finally concluded reading, he said, "I hope I haven't portrayed myself as being too wonderful, but I truly am a genius."  Exhausted by the man's imposition with the long reading, Aesop replied, "I applaud the fact that you praise yourself.  Nobody else is going to do it!"

Aesop was a slave of a wealthy landowner in the heart of modern Turkey.  He is referred to as a "hunchback" and as so unattractive that he sometimes made children cry.  Yet, his fables are still published, illustrated by some of our most respected artists.  His stories are simple enough for children to understand, and wise enough for adults to respect. 

I wonder if the children pictured above read Aesop's Fables.  Perhaps they did, as giving their children an education was important to parents of that era, and Aesop's Fables were popular books.  Traveling book sellers encouraged the importance of encyclopedias, and they sold them on a monthly basis, if families could not afford to buy the entire encyclopedia at one time.  I have an old encyclopedia owned by my grandparents titled The Home and School Reference Work, A Library of Practical, Authoritative Information, published in 1920.  (They also had the full 10 volume collection of Journeys Through Bookland, published that same year, filled with stories, poems, and other delights.) 

 Volume 12 of the Encyclopedia described the Telephone, factories, wildlife and birds.  It had photographs of the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, and the Grand Canyon, as well as other sites.    There were photographs of Woodrow Wilson and George Washington, and a 26-page description of the American Government, followed by 10 pages of American Universities.  There were diagrams of the moon and explanations of the impact on tides.  Those are only a sampling of Volume VII that must have intrigued my father and his siblings for hours.  

Yet today school children are falling behind in reading.  While it might seem exciting to have so much information immediately available to children on the internet, it seems instead that the easy access has made students indifferent to the wealth of knowledge immediately at hand.  After all, if there is something they need to know, they can look it up on their phone.  Unfortunately, that has led to little experience in not only reading but also failure to develop logic and reasoning skills.  Also lacking are empathy and compassion skills.

I will close with two quotes from Aesop:  "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." And also, "If you choose bad companions, no one will believe you are anything but bad yourself."  

 

(My father is in the front row, second from the right in the school picture.)     

The Battle of Bunker Hill

U.S. National Park Service

 I recently came across a reference to the Battle of Bunker Hill, a famous battle in the Colonies' quest for independence.  We won that battle, didn't we?  Actually, no we did not.  If we did not win, why is it remembered as so important?

I suspect that I am like a lot of us.  I recognized the name and thought I remembered it had been important in our early history, but I did not really know what made it important.  I wrongly assumed that we must have won.  The New Englanders who fought in that battle were mostly a rag-tag collection of farmers, bringing their own weapons, led by men whose military experience had been largely in fighting with the British against the French. 

 The British had experienced leadership, but the soldiers themselves were not seasoned.  To make their effectiveness even worse, they were ordered to march side by side in their heavy red uniforms while taking fire from the New Englanders.  Their plan was to slaughter the Americans in close quarters as they struggled to load their muskets.  British discipline failed, they did not follow orders, and they did not reach the colonists to slaughter them with their sabers. The British soldiers fled, stumbling over their own dead and wounded. Later, they returned and took the ground, but at a terrible sacrifice.  The rag-tag Englanders did not win, but they showed they could stand against the British, despite their ragged clothing, limited ammunition, and fairly sketchy knowledge of military discipline.  

Washington did not arrive until later, and ultimately the rag-tag nature of the soldiers was improved with discipline and training, but their stand at Bunker Hill reinforced the idea of independence, not merely demanding better treatment from the English.  Until then, it was resentment about taxes, particularly 1: the stamp act: with taxes on paper, playing cards, and legal documents, 2: the tea act, giving the East India Company a virtual monopoly on selling tea to the colonies, and 3: the sugar act, a tax on molasses as an example, --which brought more dissatisfaction in the Northern States than in the South.  

Bunker Hill changed that.  George Washington agreed to lead the Army, and gradually more of the Colonies began to accept the idea of Freedom.  Washington demanded better military discipline, and few of the New Englanders who had led the farmers were made officers under Washington.  Yet, the role they played is accurately respected for bringing the colonies together and igniting the idea that the Colonists could beat the English.  In short, they kept the notion of American liberty alive, while those less certain gradually joined the cause of Freedom.  

Prior to Bunker Hill, it was so-called radicals, who whispered the word of Freedom, but after Bunker Hill, the whispers spread, and voices grew.  Without Bunker Hill, would America have found the courage to fight for freedom.? 

Daniel Webster spoke at the laying of the cornerstone for the monument on Bunker Hill in 1825, and his words have warned the generations that followed.  "There remains in us a great duty of defense and preservation...(and) may the country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of Wisdom, of Peace, and of Liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever!"

Perhaps today is the right time to be reminded of his words.