Tea4Two,
I have read the Constitution, I have read the documents that led to the war for independence from the rule of the King, I have read the letters and speeches of the patriots who stirred the nations sentiment toward freedom from the shackles of tyranny, I have read the writings many of the early founders (including some of the lesser known founders) who wrote their reasons and wrote of their fears in taking the steps they were taking.
They knew they were committing treason. They knew there was a chance that they would lose. They knew they were risking their lives to spawn this nation. They knew that there was a grave risk that the Republic they envisioned would devolve into tyranny of Law which would rival the tyranny of Kings, and put into place preventive mechanisms to guard against that potential. We can read of Martha Washington's (Queen Martha's) campaign to raise up her husband as King over the new land.
Mrs. Powell asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" He responded, "We have a republic, if we can keep it." Our republic is adminstrated by democratically elected officials, but once elected the democratic portion of the process is over and they begin to govern within a republic. That is why the pledge of allegiance includes, "...and to the Republic for which it stands..." it is a pledge to the rule of law on which the United States of America is based. If those in positions of great power offend the rule of law, those who have pledged allegiance to that rule have an obligation to act in harmony with their pledge.
No man who is a citizen of this nation is above that rule, from the President, to the janitor at your child's elementary school, to the wino who panhandles on the corner. The rule of law was envisioned as the great equalizer, it is through this rule that we can witness and choose to reaffirm that all men are created equal. It is through this rule that the saying has become more meaningful over time, so that we can now say all humankind are created equal.
Knowing the development of this nation, I have to discount the conspiracy theories as the result selective examination of facts from a 20th and 21st century perspective. The founders were risking their lives, bravely putting their names on a document that was made public and which would have been all the cause needed to kill them as treasoners to the throne if their effort failed.
Without the animosity between the French and British at the time, our declaration of independence and Constitution would have been nothing more than a footnote in history books as a quelled rebellion, and we would be singing "God Save the Queen" on important days in British history. George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams (writer of the Constitution and diplomat to France and Holland), Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Paul Revere, and Patrick Henry would be villains of the tale, instead of heros.
Because of that animosity, the French gave us muskets and cannon, without which we could not have withstood the British. Because of that animosity, the French naval fleets ran interference with the British armada to help us supply goods where needed along our coastline, without which our troops would have starved and frozen.
Understanding how tenuous our grasp on freedom was, it is beyond imagining that these men were concerned with some grand scheme along the lines of an illuminati style conspiracy. They were fighting for their lives after signing that document. In my opinion, only selective analysis of facts taken out of temporal context could lead someone to another conclusion.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
