American Decline: Is it real?
By MacPundit
Growing up, most of us were cautioned to not discuss religion or politics while in polite company. This was and is good advice—generally speaking. But some general rules when applied too strictly can be disadvantageous, even to an entire society. For example, if our founders had not been aggressively vocal with their political opinions, it is almost certain that the United States of America would not exist.
Yet they angered a lot of people back then. Not everyone agreed with them and would rather they had kept their big mouths shut.
Ben Franklin’s own son was loyal to the King so he opposed revolution. The split with his father was never resolved and to his last breath, Franklin’s estrangement from his son hurt him deeply. Franklin paid a terribly high price for his beliefs.
By speaking out, our founders were deemed traitors by the British Crown. They became hunted men—wanted dead or alive. To be clear, they not only spoke out, they fomented discontent among their fellow colonists, which led to a full-blown revolution. They formed an army and took up arms against the government of which they were citizens. They waged full-out war and ultimately created an entirely new nation. In so doing, they had a profound effect on the future of mankind by taking power from a monarch and giving it to the people. How impolite of them!