Don Knebel: “A republic, if you can keep it”

Fifty-six men met in Philadelphia to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor” to support the proposition that legitimate governments “deriv(e) their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That was 248 years ago today.

The British took them at their word, capturing and torturing five of them as traitors and ransacking and burning the homes of 12. By the time the Revolutionary War had won the independence proclaimed on July 4, 1776, more than 25,000 Americans had died. That was just under one percent of the new nation’s entire population.

One of them was 21-year-old Nathan Hale. On Sept. 22, 1776, just before he was hanged for spying, he told his British captors: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

So what are we Americans doing on this day that recognizes the sacrifices of our founders to make sure our governments act only with our consent?

Unfortunately, not nearly enough, especially here in Indiana. The way we give consent to our government is by voting, and frankly, Indiana’s voting record is pathetic and getting worse.

In the 2022 general election, Indiana’s voter turnout was next to last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia; only West Virginia did worse. Only about 40 percent of registered Hoosier voters showed up.

In this year’s primary election, the turnout was even worse. Only about 20 percent of registered voters cast ballots – despite a highly competitive race to choose the Republican nominee for governor.

Perhaps even more dispiriting, about one-third of potential Hoosier voters have not even bothered to register. When we who are governed sit out an election, we are forsaking our right to give our consent to one candidate or another.

Unlike the patriots who dared to sign the Declaration of Independence, we typically do not have to pledge our lives or our fortunes. But what has become of our sacred honor?

On Sept. 18, 1787, the last day of the Constitutional Convention, an influential Philadelphia socialite asked Benjamin Franklin if the gathering had created a republic or a monarchy. Franklin famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Today, as we honor the founders of our republic with parades, fireworks, and barbecues, let’s also make a pledge to keep it.