Things I learned in Philadelphia

catzmeow · #1 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 05:35 AM

http://dubiouswonder.blogspot.com/20...in-philly.html

all of us probably studied U.S. history at some point in our educational process...but it was refreshing to be reminded of some things I'd either forgotten (or possibly, never learned, in the santized version of U.S. history presently taught in schools).

There are more parallels than I imagined between what is happening in Iraq and what happened in our early years here:

Quote:

Things I learnt in Philly
Flew from DC to Philly on Saturday, got an early check-in at my hotel, and went roaming on Saturday afternoon and evening. Saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's grave, Christ Church, and Betsey Ross's house.

So, here are a few of the things I learned:

1) Democracy is messy. We celebrate the 4th of July but the Declaration of Independence was actually published and read aloud on July 2. July 4 is the day it was ratified by the new congress. The Crest of King George of England hung in the courthouse in Philadelphia which later became the home of the Supreme Court, and when the declaration was read, 8 marshalls were present to tear down the crest, which was dragged through the streets and abused. For starters, the process was much messier than most of us realize. The U.S. had utter chaos for a while there...including a number of rebellions and near rebellions in it's early years, like the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington's forces mutinied in 1781 (5 years after war had been declared and the cause had started to look hopeless) and he had to dispatch 600 soldiers to put the rebellion down. Two years later, the war had been won. Even a month after the Revolutionary War had ended, there was a near rebellion amongst the U.S. forces.

2) Democracy takes awhile. The doom and gloom crowd, presently having a cow over the chaos in Iraq, needs to take a history lesson. It took 11 years, after the declaration of independence, for the U.S. to come up with a constitutuion and it involved a great deal of moral wrangling (the slavery issue was a crucial one) and religious appeasement (religious conservatives controlled much of New England). The original articles of confederation didn't work and had to be replaced by a constitution that took much longer to create. Iraq's plan to create a constitution for itself within a year of independence is pretty (*)(*)(*)(*) brave and bold, and there is actually a higher level of support for Iraqi indepedence than there was for U.S. independence. Hostilities went on for years in the U.S. and divided brother from brother and family from family over the issue of independence and liberty versus treason to Great Britain. The U.S. population was far from united behind the cause of liberty. It took nearly 7 years for the U.S. to win the war and be recognized by the world as a free nation. The Treaty of Paris, successfully resolving the revolutionary war, wasn't ratified until 1783. Further, for the first 5 years of the rebellion, there was no strong central government, only individual states with a unified cause. The articles of confederation, which was the precursor of the constitution, were not ratified until 1781. These eventually proved unworkable and were replaced by the constitution which was written and ratified (in Independence Hall) in Philadelphia in 1787.

It's certainly a good thing the current Democratic party, with their historic lack of patience with workings of liberty, wasn't in charge. They'd have washed their hands of the whole process and fled to Europe.

3) Democracy is inspiring. It brought chills to my skin and tears to my eyes to realize how hard our forefathers struggled to bring this country to pass, how hard they worked, and how much they suffered for an ideal...a vision they could see in the future...for us, and for themselves. These men were willing to sacrifice their lives, homes, families, and futures for an idea...the idea that men should be free to govern themselves. The human will to have liberty is amazing. What is even more amazing...of 192 countries in the world, 103 are not free. Americans forget how unique our lifestyle is, and how much of it is based upon the sacrifices of people who died hundreds of years ago.

As Moises Naim writes in a recent edition of Foreign Policy:

You are not normal. If you are reading these pages, you probably belong to the minority of the world’s population that has a steady job, adequate access to social security, and enjoys substantial political freedoms. Moreover, you live on more than $2 a day, and, unlike 860 million others, you can read.

The percentage of humanity that combines all of these attributes is
minuscule. According to the World Bank, about half of humanity lives on
less than $2 a day, while the International Labour Organization reckons that a third of the available labor force is unemployed or underemployed, and half of the world’s population has no access to any kind of social security. Freedom House, an organization that studies countries’ political systems, categorizes 103 of the world’s 192 nations as either “not free” or “partially free,” meaning that the civil liberties and basic political rights of their citizens are limited or severely curtailed. More than 3.6 billion people, or 56 percent of the world, live in such countries.

I wonder how many of us would have these advantages were it not for the sacrifices of men like Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Washington, along with countless thousands of others who fought and died to be free. Our forefathers fought a (mostly) losing battle for democracy over 7 years against unimaginable odds...and won. They gambled everything they had for an idea.

4) Democracy is often a struggle against the odds. The U.S. population was heavily split on the idea of rebellion against Great Britain. While about 40-45% of the population supported the rebellion, another 15-20% were loyal to King George...and these loyalists fielded approximately 50,000 troops to fight against the "patriots."

U.S. forces were heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the British forces. The British had a massive fleet. In July of 1776, a portion of it arrived in New York Harbor: 30 battleships with 1200 cannon, 30,000 soldiers, 10,000 sailors, and 300 supply ships. The U.S., on the other hand, had no standing navy. The U.S. lost more battles than it won, and the population was not a united front behind the cause of democracy. Nevertheless, the vision of freedom prevailed.

4) Democracy is sometimes surreal. Spending 9/11 in Philadelphia, where this nation began ideologically, and where our historic buildings where freedom was created are located, and yet having to pass through metal detectors and security screening and walk past armed guards to see them is surreal at best, but I suppose it is the way things are now, after 9/11.

rikitz · #2 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catzmeow";p=&quot

Things I learnt in Philly
Flew from DC to Philly on Saturday, got an early check-in at my hotel, and went roaming on Saturday afternoon and evening. Saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's grave, Christ Church, and Betsey Ross's house.

did you at any point leave your tour bus and wander off a few blocks north of the beautiful center city?

catzmeow · #3 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 07:02 AM

I walked the entire time...and spent a great deal of time in and around South Street.

But I only had a day, so I didn't really have time to do an in-depth assessment of Philly's inner city neighborhoods. However, given that I routinely work in some of the poorest and most crime ridden areas of cities known for their poverty and crime, your value judgement is both inaccurate and stupid.

I've worked on anti-gang initiatives for 15 years. I've been shot at, had my car stolen, attended dozens of funerals for my clients, held bullet wounds closed with my bare hands, eaten many meals in homes with bullet holes through the front windows, and housed gang members in my home. I suspect your implication is that I'm just another white tourist.

You're mistaken.

Catz

rikitz · #4 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catzmeow";p=&quot

I walked the entire time...and spent a great deal of time in and around South Street.

south is the safe direction in Philadelphia as was in Canada for us a week ago

Quote:

given that I routinely work in some of the poorest and most crime ridden areas of cities known for their poverty and crime, your value judgement is both inaccurate and stupid.

Quote:

I've worked on anti-gang initiatives for 15 years. I've been shot at, had my car stolen, attended dozens of funerals for my clients, held bullet wounds closed with my bare hands, eaten many meals in homes with bullet holes through the front windows, and housed gang members in my home.

and yet still you believe this country has the moral right to liberate and bring their style freedoms to other countries? amusing. fortunately the world is waking up.

catzmeow · #5 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 07:30 AM

I'd venture to say that my experiences with low income and underserved populations in the U.S. are far above your own. Further, even the poor in the U.S. are entitled to a free 12 year education, a social security safety net, and live on more than $2 a day which puts them far better off than about 80% of the world's population.

You really need to get out more. But way to redirect the conversation away from the topics I wrote about and into the realm of ad hominems. The problem is that I've probably spent a significantly higher amount of time dealing with the problems of America's inner city and being actually IN THEM than you have.

So, that's probably the WORST possible approach you could have taken with me. It might work with other white women, but it doesn't fly with me.

Catz

rikitz · #6 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catzmeow";p=&quot

You really need to get out more.

when was the last time you traveled outside US?

catzmeow · #7 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 09:33 AM

And have spent a great deal of my time working with refugees/recent immigrants.

When was the last time you were in inner city Miami? or LA? Or Houston? Or Pittsburgh? Or DC?

We can play this game all day while you ignore the gist of my posting which is this:

Democracy took a long time to accomplish here and it was a bloody, difficult process...far worse than the present situation in Iraq except for the access to more sophisticated weapons.

Catz

rikitz · #8 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catzmeow";p=&quot

When was the last time you were in inner city Miami? or LA? Or Houston? Or Pittsburgh? Or DC?

LA, beginning of the year; Pittsburgh, been there few years ago, DC many times last time last year. all cities you mentioned (as all others) have one thing in common and you know it. lots of ghettoes around the beatiful center city that's shown on media.

catzmeow · #9 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 09:44 AM

when i go to those cities.

ciao...again, way to ignore the gist of what I wrote. I guess you can only respond as you did because you probably didn't make it past the first two sentences of what I wrote.

Catz

The12thMan · #10 (**permalink**) 09-14-2005, 10:01 AM

Thought provoking post, Catz.

Makes me want to go there. I imagine standing amidst the ghosts of the past would be very inspiring. We take so much for granted, sometimes we forget that these were real people.

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