Chalice Art by Selma Blackburn

Rev. Bob Klein

UUCLR                         

February 20, 2005

Of Presidents and Kings

Great and Mortal Men (and only men so far), Great Decisions, Morality, History, Current Events, and Questions for the Future

Some of the histories of the revolutionary era suggest that George Washington would have been proclaimed King if he had wanted that title. I suppose that might have led the United States toward a Constitutional Monarchy with a somewhat different balance of powers than what we now know. That he accepted the title of President was much more in keeping with the revolutionary spirit of our fledgling nation. Washington’s two terms in office, John Adam’s term, and Jefferson’s two terms all occurred within what we might describe as the experimental period of US history. Those first few years were an uncertain time, when the states were far from united and the nation far from secure. The process of nation building did not proceed smoothly according to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, but involved a series of disputes, disagreements and compromises which left many difficult questions for later generations. One of the worst compromises was over the matter of slavery, leaving the slave trade active for many years and allowing slavery to continue and grow until the Civil War. Another more favorable compromise was the agreement that there would be no established religion and that religious freedoms would be protected. The legends of the revolutionary period and the infancy of our nation mix history and myth in strange and mysterious ways, providing a mixture of precedents of biblical proportions.

What did the founders of our nation really believe and what visions of truth, beauty, compassion and justice inspired them? What were their religious and spiritual views? Were they really as great as the legends or were they mere mortals thrust by the exigencies of the moment onto the world stage? Neither Washington, Adams, nor Jefferson seemed to have any belief in a life beyond their mortal existences. Adams was a Unitarian and Jefferson a Deist who thought Unitarianism would become the predominant religion of the United States. Washington and for the most part Adams preceded partisan politics in the US. Washington was unopposed when elected. Jefferson helped create the partisan political structure while maintaining intellectually that those who would lead the nation ought to rise above partisan divisions.

Let me take a step back and tell you where I started with the idea for this sermon. For several months, I have had in my stack of books to read, two books about the founders of our nation. One is the Pulitzer Prize Winning, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, by Joseph J. Ellis.  The other is, The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders, by Jacob Needleman. I have long had an interest in American History and an abiding interest in the US Presidency. I set a goal for myself of reading these two books and developing a sermon fitting for President’s Day weekend. Questions I asked myself along the way included: how did the early days of the Republic differ from our current moment in time and how has the role of President changed in the course of time since George Washington first took the oath of office in 1789? These books and articles on several websites informed this sermon.

One thing which historical studies make very clear is that, somewhat at odds with the rationale for a recent decision of the Arkansas legislature in voting to defeat a bill affirming the separation of church and state, the founders of our nation did not intend to build a Christian nation either as they understood it or as it seems to be understood in Arkansas in 2005. Jefferson was a Unitarian leaning deist, Adams a Unitarian, Franklin a frequenter of the Unitarian Church in London, Washington probably a nominal believer in the God of Christianity, but none a believer in the kind of evangelical fundamentalism which seems to dominate local religious discussions. All helped to shape a separation between church and state and all supported the freedom of individuals to practice their own religious understandings. The Founders of our nation were fallible human beings with high moral and ethical standards who worked to shape a nation of laws based upon human rights, compassion, and justice. In the earliest days, they felt that the issue of slavery was too likely to tear apart the fragile union of states, so they left it for future generations. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton became moving forces in calling a Constitutional Convention to replace the inadequate Articles of Confederation. After the completion of the Constitution in 1787 and ratification in 1788, Representatives from the states went to work crafting the Bill of Rights including 10 amendments that were ratified by the end of 1791.

As I read the books and added articles from various historical websites, I learned about a group of men who might not have come to the world’s attention if the level of taxation by England’s King George III had not become such an insufferable burden to the colonies. Stoic Washington would have been satisfied to go back and remain on his farm after the French and Indian War as well as later after retiring as Commander in Chief of the Revolutionary Army. Franklin had already lived many roles when he was called to assist the revolution. Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, and Madison might have found other ventures to use their talents. The experiment that is our nation began primarily with Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The revolutionary generation included men with great vision and a dream of a new kind of nation. General Washington had won fame for his physical prowess and determination before the Revolution and Franklin was respected for his wisdom, but the others gained fame in the Revolution and the building of the nation. These early leaders set the tone for a new nation based upon egalitarian democratic principles expressed in a representative form of government. By no means perfect nor in any way guaranteed to succeed, our republic was a remarkable innovation for its time and arguably the greatest creation yet of this continent.

Each of our national leaders had their own business dealings, their own financial and personal issues, their own beliefs, their own lives separate from the business of the nation, yet many of them came to personify the ideals of freedom and justice that made this nation great. We live in a far different time today, a time less interested in high ideals and more interested in the achievement of wealth. We live in a time when personal interests often supercede any community feeling or commitment to making the world better. Where are today’s Washington’s, Jefferson’s, Lincolns, and Kennedy’s? Those who express any ideals rarely win elections or even have a voice in the shaping of US policy. Oil producers, pharmaceutical and health insurance companies and other big businesses have far more influence in government decision making than those individuals with broader visions for the health of the planet or even the nation.  The Kyoto accords went into effect this week without us. There have been times when our nation was the conscience of the world, today we may be the most powerful nation, but our hands are dirty.

Washington and Adams were drafted for the Presidency, they did not campaign. Jefferson distanced himself from his campaign. All were chosen because enough people believed in them and that for which they stood.

How often in recent years have people chosen a candidate out of fear of the possible negative consequences of the other candidate winning? How often in recent years have campaigns been conducted in a positive fashion rather than being at core an effort to sling mud at the other candidate? How far would any of us trust the current President on a personal level, in business, or in matters such as Social Security, Medicare, or International Affairs? The leaders of the Revolution exhibited the best values and integrity of their time, with occasional flaws and failings. Can we say the same for the current President or most of the men who have held the post in the intervening years? Some men of great integrity have been President, as have several scoundrels. Is there a way to return to the true values, beliefs, morals, and ethics of the revolution? Washington’s greatest success during his Presidency may have been keeping us out of war, Jefferson’s the vision that made this nation great.

It was not the narrow-minded version of Christianity that inspired the founders of our nation, nor will covenant marriages or the denial of rights to gays and lesbians restore our nation to health. If Christianity did inspire the founders, it was the Christianity that agonized over slavery and other injustices, of Jesus calling only the sinless to cast the first stone, and the affirmation of women and foreigners in Jesus talk with the Samaritan woman. The Founding Generation put a Separation between Church and State, set up a system of checks and balances, and dreamed of a nation in which individuals could succeed by their own efforts in a just and compassionate society. More than anything else, they lived with a rich sense of hope for themselves and for the nation they built.

In 229 years of US history, our nation has been tested by war and peace, by Civil War, the struggle to end slavery, the effort to give women a voice and vote in government, the struggle for civil rights, and more recently by the growing chasm between rich and poor. The US Constitution continues to provide a strong but flexible structure for the ongoing experiment that is our nation. Will the Constitution and our nation survive the effort to restrict the civil rights of gays and lesbians, to limit the benefits of Social Security, and will we be able to regain the respect of the world beyond our current wars of aggression? It seems to me that internally and externally the great power of our nation is challenged by our current lack of a healthy national vision of our place in the world.

We who are well educated and employed live comfortably here in the United States. We have a lot to lose if we criticize too much or challenge the status quo. Most of us have retirement plans and health insurance coverage. Most of us have comfortable homes or apartments, nice cars, nice clothes, and enough money to do most anything we want to do. There are risks if we protest about the war or the erosion of rights under the Patriot Act or for the rights of illegal immigrants or gays and lesbians.

What direction will the leadership of our nation take in the future? What will we accept from future Presidents? Will we seek those with vision? Will we seek those who might really make a positive difference in the world?

Will we continue to allow only those with the most money to battle for national leadership? Will we seek real changes in campaign financing laws? Will we demand honesty about changes in programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? Will we call for accountability in foreign ventures? Will we elect women and minorities to the Presidency?

George Washington retired as Commander in Chief of the Army when he felt it was time to do so. Likewise, he stepped down from the Presidency at the end of his second term, setting a precedent rarely broken and now legally limited. Washington strove to build up the nation and avoid international conflicts. No President since has enjoyed the level of support he received. With the other members of the Revolutionary Generation, Washington has faded into a misty history of legend and myth. Among his long list of accomplishments, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, though Madison and Hamilton offered more to its final form. Jefferson’s words set the tone for the nation, but it took almost 90 years and the blood of the Civil War under another visionary President, Abraham Lincoln, to end the evil of slavery.

The principles of liberty, justice, compassion, and community that shaped our nation are the same principles behind our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes. These enduring values are the best antidote and balance to the special interests that have gained so much power in our nation and around the world in recent days. These are the values that I support and my ongoing hope is that each and every one of us  will strive and make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that they will remain the core values of this our native and chosen land!

So may it be.  Amen.