Time to Think

Can We Keep It? By Hank Silverberg As Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1789 where our early leaders had just spent months putting together the U.S. Constitution, he was asked by an observer what kind of government our nation would have.    His response: “It’s a Republic, if we can keep it!” A government of the people with free elections for its leaders, was a new concept  in the 18 th Century. It was an experiment with many unknowns and many flaws, some of which we have yet to  fix.    We are celebrating America’s 243 rd birthday this week at a time when   the United States faces its greatest political division since 1860. That was clear during last week’s crowded Democratic debate that included a great deal of diversity in candidates, if not in ideas. The 20 people on the stage over two nights, for the most part, did not differ much on ideology. But it was clear they are far apart from the people now running, and perhaps r

Crosses and Detention Centers By Hank Silverberg   A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court this week raises once again a conflict between freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They are both guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but at times can be in conflict with each other. (photo by Hank Silverberg)  The issue was the Bladensburg Cross, a World War One memorial which stands at a key intersection in Maryland, right on the border with Washington, D.C. It was erected by the American Legion in 1925 to honor those who died in the Great War.   I first covered this story when the lawsuit was filed in 2014, and it has taken this long for the case to get to the Supreme Court.  Here is the  version of that original story I did five years ago for WUSA9, in D.C.                                                      https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/the-american-legion-v-american-humanist-association/ The Supreme Court ruli

The Campaign By Hank Silverberg No, this is not another plug for the novel I published in 2017. You can find details on that at the end of this blog. This is about the real-life drama of 2020,   which is already hot 18 months before the election and six months before any primary voting.   I have lost count of just how many people are running for the Democratic nomination. It’s more than two dozen. Next week there will be two debates, a top tier and a lower tier, where most of the Democratic candidates will get a chance to tell us their vision of America’s future. I am not going to predict who will be the winner, and anyone who thinks they can make such a prediction should stay   away from the betting window at the race track, because they are likely to pick the wrong horse. Here are a few things I hope the Democrats will do:                                            1)    Give us a reason to vote for you, not just a reason NOT to vote for Trump. (We know h

The Hidden Threat By Hank Silverberg Much of the focus of environmentalists over the last few years has been on climate change. We’ve seen the science and have been alerted to the danger, though the government, specifically the current administration, has had no response. But there is another environmental problem that is just as bad. Call it the fifth element in our war to save the planet. It lurks in our kitchen, our cars, our workplace and in the food we eat. The invasion began slowly and quietly in the 1950’s and infiltrated all aspects of our lives.  Dustin Hoffman got an early tip in "The Graduate":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dug-G9xVdVs#action=share Plastics are as much a threat to us as carbon dioxide, coal ash or the internal combustion engine. It does not go away. Once it’s produced, a piece of plastic will take about 450 years to disintegrate. That straw you used at the fast food joint last week will still be around for your great-great-great-gre