The Founding: It's Not Just One Thing

John Trumbull took artistic license in his 1818 painting of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress.

Rabbi Meir Soloveichik muses upon its symbolism: [bold added]

while Jefferson is prominent, it is Adams, the chief advocate of independence in the Continental Congress, who occupies the center of the canvas. Every other founder’s physique is partially obscured, while Adams can be seen in his entirety. Most great paintings give us one focal point, but this one has two.

This is appropriate, because Adams and Jefferson can be seen as the two intellectual poles of the Revolution. Jefferson was an ardent admirer of the Enlightenment and believed that the American founding would “show by example the sufficiency of human reason for the care of human affairs.” Adams also appreciated the power of reason, but like Edmund Burke across the Atlantic, he emphasized the importance of religious and moral tradition in preserving society.

In 1776 John Trumbull thought Jefferson's position on the supremacy of reason was more important than Adams' emphasis on religion, but the murderous excesses of the French Revolution showed everyone what could happen if there were no moral counterweight to an absolutist government.

We see echoes of that government-religion conflict today in President Biden's support not only for abortion rights but for government funding of abortions. The latter was a bridge too far for the American Catholic church, which is debating whether to deny communion to the Catholic President. Your humble blogger believes that the legalization and public financing of abortion is properly a political issue, while granting or withholding communion is a matter to be worked out between the church and its members.

What is profoundly disturbing are statements by politicians that the church should be subservient to government, at least in this matter:

Rep. Jared Huffman of California, an “avowed nontheist,” responded: “If they’re going to politically weaponize religion by ‘rebuking’ Democrats who support women’s reproductive choice, then a ‘rebuke’ of their tax-exempt status may be in order.”

(Image source here)

The fact that Rep. Huffman feels free to threaten the Catholic Church with taxation--and potentially its destruction-- (“the power to tax involves the power to destroy") shows how far protection of religion and other First Amendment rights have fallen in importance to those who advocate the accretion of even more power to central government.

Nevertheless, despite such importunate statements, your humble blogger has, yes, faith that the principles espoused by Jefferson, Adams, and the other founders will prove to be far more resilient than present-day efforts to cast them aside.

May you and your loved ones, dear reader, have a restorative 4th of July.

Renaming Solution: Disband the Committee

Abraham Lincoln High School (Chron photo)

Three months ago we remarked somewhat bemusedly upon the movement to rename scores of San Francisco schools. Even an icon like Abraham Lincoln, who, because he had to make compromises with racists to win the deadliest war in American history, is a candidate for erasure.

Reality should have set in by now. Surely changing school names would be the lowest priority as educators struggle to figure out how to re-open safely. Surely the resumption of in-person learning--as well as improving the experience of on-line classes--should command most of the financial resources and the full attention of teachers and administrators.

But never doubt the fanaticism of ideologues---reminiscent of the Scopes trial of nearly 100 years ago--to place their "religion" above the welfare of children.

S.F. might change 44 school names, renouncing Washington, Lincoln and even Dianne Feinstein

Parents and principals at 44 sites were forced to scramble this week to brainstorm new school names while also juggling the demands of distance learning in a pandemic.

Those names on the school buildings, including Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson, that have connections to slavery, genocide or oppression should be changed, according to a committee recommendation heading to the school board.

More than a third of the district’s 125 schools made the list of objectionable names, which also included Balboa, Lowell and Mission high schools, as well as Roosevelt and Presidio middle schools and Webster, Sanchez and Jose Ortega elementary schools.

Repainting the signage while the schools are (metaphorically) collapsing is like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic--a cliché, to be sure, but one that some of our more junior readers may not know.

The duly elected African-American mayor of San Francisco thinks that the renaming project is of scant importance, and who are we to argue?

Today I issued a statement on the need for our School District to focus on reopening our public schools, not renaming them. To address inequities, we need to get our kids back in the classroom. pic.twitter.com/nHnauVZzFe

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) October 16, 2020

Independence Day, 2020: I've Stopped Looking For a Pony

(Business Insider image)

The headlines about President Trump's speech on Independence Day eve were uniformly negative, so I decided to exercise my right to independent thought by reading his speech in its entirety (after the break at bottom) before checking out the reviews.

A generation ago you wouldn't have blinked at most of the speech: praise for American exceptionalism, the words and deeds of the Founders, the great inventions and triumphs ("electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the Internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American astronauts on the Moon"), and a recitation of the accomplishments of the four Presidents on Mount Rushmore.

The latter allowed the President to transition to a condemnation of those who tear down monuments (he was careful not to mention Confederate symbols). He then levied a much broader attack against

“Cancel Culture"— driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and our values...

In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished.

Throughout his term the President has been called every name in the book, including Nazi and dictator, so his opponents won't like it that he's calling them the Fascists and totalitarians.

Actually, I've decided not to read the reviews because I know they're going to say what they've been saying for the past 3½ years: the President is divisive, he's firing up his base, he's a racist and white supremacist.

From Russian collusion to the Ukraine-whatever-that-was to the emoluments clause to the Logan Act to the climate denialism to the #MeToo movement that toppled mostly Democrats to the Trumpian over- then under-reaction to the coronavirus the media has been shoveling a lot of [stuff] since 2016 and affecting outrage throughout.

I used to trust their profession of journalistic principles to believe that they had something, but frankly I've stopped looking for a pony.