What Happened in 1776 Did Not Stay There

July 4 was a hot and humid day. It was the kind of weather that old people are supposed to avoid by staying in the air conditioning.

So, we obliged as we waited for the cool of the evening to partake of fireworks which were spectacular this year. Fireworks went off everywhere and continued throughout the weekend. It was a great celebration of our country's birthday of declaring independence from Great Britain.

To keep in step with the day, we watched the musical "1776" written by Sherman Edwards, It is one of our favorites. We were first introduced to this fabulous show in Altoona in the 70s. It centers around John Adams trying to persuade a reluctant congress to vote for independence. It started on Broadway and a movie followed.

In the early 1980s, Priscilla Gardner (now deceased) directed it at Old Bedford Village. There were those who doubted she could ever find the large number of men who could sing for the cast. Never one to be daunted, Priscilla had a very successful show.

Cove connections included Dick Rice, (deceased) who played Ben Franklin better than in the original movie. Gerald Brown from Woodbury was the congressional secretary and Steve Clapper, (deceased), was John Dickinson.

My husband was Roger Sherman from Connecticut. It was a tremendous cast and it played over the fourth of July.

We have also seen "1776" presented near Yosemite, California; Lancaster; Pittsburgh; Gettysburg; and Cumberland, Md. The latter was a huge disappointment as they cast women in men's parts and had one person playing several different roles. The costumes were also very ho-hum.

Gettysburg did slightly better with the casting but had modern-day wardrobes which lessened the appeal.

The music is fantastic and from what I have read, the storyline is accurate. Our favorite song is near the beginning when John Adams sings, "Congress, they piddle, twiddle, and resolve, but not one darn thing do they solve."

Things don't change

Sound familiar? The more things change, the more they stay the same. Piddle would be a good word for the millions of dollars spend on the Mueller investigation which has resulted in absolutely nothing. After investigating the investigator and then investigating those who investigated the investigator, they have still not reached a conclusion. I seriously wonder what part of "there was no collusion," they don't understand.

Twiddle: Yes, congress twiddled over approving President Trump's nomination of judge Brent Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Some homely woman with a child's voice in California was certain he had attacked her when she was 16. She could not remember exactly where, when, or who was there, but she was positive the situation had occurred.

I can tell you that three times in my life I have had inappropriate advances made to me. I remember the perpetrators, the time of year, where I was and what I was wearing. In each case, I handled the situation immediately with my vocabulary. They got the picture.

And resolve: Congress has resolved to balance the budget and do something about health care for at least 40 years. They attempted and failed with Obamacare. All they would have to do is help those with pre-existing conditions. The rest would have remained unchanged and 90 percent of the population would be happy.

They resolve to balance the budget. They resolve to close our borders. Do they? Of course not, because they piddle, twiddle, and resolve.

The sticking point

Writing the Declaration of Independence almost brought fistfights in the 1776 Congress. They argued over words and the biggest item of all, "slavery."

Because there had to be a 100 percent agreement in order to pass the vote for independence, the North, including John Adams and Ben Franklin, agreed to go along with slavery but the entire North knew that sooner or later it would become the most serious issue in the new country.

Thomas Jefferson was not in favor of slavery and would have given up his own had the rest agreed.

Reparations

That brings me to congress presently piddling and twiddling about reparations for those of African descent. Now how ridiculous is that? What about the black people who owned slaves? What about the interracial marriages that have brought about people who are half black or their children, perhaps one-quarter black? Do we give reparations based on the percentage and how do we determine what that would be?

A good number of my ancestors and my husband's were involved in the Underground Railroad. Do we get off free on this ridiculous idea? Or, perhaps, we should also get a reparation for having ancestors who tried to help.

Throw 'em out?

For the most part, the founders of our wonderful country did a tremendous job with both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. One big and glaring mistake was to not set term limits for congress. Those men who willingly and freely took time off from their careers to help with the founding of the country, did not want to do it forever. Being a representative or senator for a lifetime was a thought that never occurred to them. They never considered good American citizens would use politics to get rich.

To me one of the most important lines in the Declaration of Independence is, "The Pursuit of Happiness." That means we each have a right to pursue whatever makes us happy. For some, that is accumulated wealth, a yacht, a mansion or whatever. For others, it might be having 14 children. Either pursuit is fine, just don't expect me to help you get there. If you want wealth, good for you. Work for it. If you want 14 children, that is also quite all right. Just don't expect me to help you raise them.

Pursuit means exactly that – we have the right to pursue what makes us happy, so long as it is legal. No one has the right to force us to pursue happiness for others. That should be each person's individual choice.

If you have never seen 1776, check it out. It is available through Amazon.com and many other sources on the internet. It will make you cry, chuckle and, most of all, think.

Editor's Note: While we let columnists speak with their own voice, the Herald is a community newspaper with a dedication to providing a complete view of important issues. Therefore, we must clarify two assertions in this column.

One, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report found no evidence that U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign team "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. However, Mueller's investigation fell short of exonerating Trump of obstruction of justice.

Two, the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") required that all health insurance plans offered in the Marketplace covered treatment for pre-existing conditions. Health care plans offered by the Republican Party and debated in 2017 offered some pre-existing condition protections, but they were not as comprehensive as those in the Affordable Care Act. No replacement for the ACA has been passed by congress as of the date of this newspaper.