Philadelphia Freedom Flowing

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution” (Abraham Lincoln)

The sheer amount of American History in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania overwhelms me with chills of joy. So with only two days to spare here on our latest road trip, I felt that a one day walking tour around the colonial city center would provide the best option to pursue. Some highlights from my itinerary there are briefly described below.

1. National Constitution Center – Surround yourself along circular tour route with over 250 years of our U.S. Constitution in action. Walk amid life-size statues of the 42 men who gathered in Philadelphia for the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. Observe two special exhibits documenting the long struggle for women’s right to vote leading up to the 19th amendment passage and the African American struggle for Civil Rights during the Post Civil War Reconstruction period.

2. Independence Hall – Enter the Assembly Room on a short tour where the birthplace of the United States Democracy took place. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence here. While 11 years later, in the same room, delegates to the Constitutional Convention created and signed the United States Constitution. Then move to the West wing to see one of the original documents of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation.

3. Christ Church Burial Ground – Pay homage to the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence who are unceremoniously buried in here

So I’m sitting contentedly in Washington Square Park in Philadelphia the next day pondering what I’ve learned from yesterday’s visit to the birthplace of America’s democracy. A few hours earlier, I had witnessed a blazing restaurant fire take place in a popular downtown restaurant as we we were walking nearby. I immediately noticed then an efficient response of fire and police working in cooperative tandem to de-escalate any danger to the large gathering crowd while on-site reporters reported the “Breaking News” live on camera for all to see.

So I applaud the city of Philadelphia for demonstrating to me in this dire emergency how Americans can effectively work together for the common good in our democracy as our Constitution intended. For absent such rules of free government, what alternative scenario could have taken to place if Authoritarian leadership had been in control? How quickly would the public authorities have arrived on the scene in response to quell any neighborhood panic? Would bystanders be shot by the secret police if they encroached to closely on the scene? How would this tragic event of human concern be covered in the heavily propagandized media that seemed accustomed to “spinning’s lies about any negativism concerning their autocratic regime.

So Let’s face it. America needs leaders who respond well to the will of all people they serve not a system where the people serve at the whims of insensitive despots in charge. That’s our Constitutional way. ” So let’s heed the warnings as John Adams, esteemed “Founding Father” who once said ” But a Constitution of government once changed from freedman can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” So I welcome you to observe some photographic impressions I took from these Philadelphia landmarks I visited below.