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