I was chatting with Ben Franklin the other Day

Ben Franklin

“ Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

I was talking with Ben Franklin the other day. I don't know exactly how he got in touch with me but they have to fix the bugs in Zoom. Anyway Ben started talking politics. I tried to steer clear of the subject as our politics are a bit embarrassing. But Ben is a persistent old coot and he wanted news of our republic. I began with the basics. I told him we now were divided as red states and blue states. The concept confused him. He said that at the constitutional convention he had foreseen the white vs 3/5 black compromise would be a problem but never foresaw difficulties with other colors and drank some Beer.

I explained the Covid-19 shutdown and said how brave and sacrificing everyone has been by staying home. Ben asked, "They are sacrificing by staying home. Are they going hungry and in mortal danger?" No, I said the greatest fear is running out of toilet paper and an internet outage. Luckily home deliveries by Amazon make the shopping ordeal less stressful. Ben looked thoughtful and sipped his Wine.

I told him about the government's obsession with immigration. Ben said, “That’s great! How are you going to build a great nation without immigrants”? I clarified that the administration wants to stop immigration. Ben nodded and finished his Port.

He asked me about the amendments to the constitution. How goes the Bill of Rights? I reported the second amendment is keeping democracy safe as it is now possible for US citizens to carry automatic weapons into any public gathering. I also mentioned the failure of the passage of an equal right amendment. Women were still being denied basic rights of healthcare and economic equality. Ben nodded and swigged his Brandy, muttered to himself that King George might have been right and closed the session.