The below is a re-post from my personal webpage (jeffreyruppert.com) titled My Post-Election Founder / TJ Mantra (11/19/2016):
In times of great national insecurity I, like many, often turn to the Founders words for guidance. I don't do this because the Founders were always right. And I certainly know that they could not foresee most of the evolution of our nation and its modern benefits and challenges. I look to the Founders because they thought, read and wrote both broadly and deeply. They used that knowledge to not only found a nation suitable for their present, but also one that could evolve and endure. They designed our new nation with an unsentimental eye towards to the foibles and limits of man; the resulting Republic has survived assault foreign and domestic.
Post-Election 2016, I have again spent some additional time with history, and came across this Jefferson quote. It has become a source of both comfort and resolve:
While the quote itself comes from one of the most controversial of Jefferson writings (the 1798 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions), its sentiment is nevertheless sound. In the US, when facing challenging times or threats, we do not turn solely to hope or prayer, or even to powerful individuals, to save the day. Instead, we rely upon those processes and institutions - especially our own Constitution - as forged by the Founders and honed through 240+ years of experience to continue our Republic's sometimes erratic, but unrelenting, march toward greater and shared prosperity, equality, and justice.
Hold our leaders to their oaths to defend that Constitution, and this too shall pass.
JARuppert
