"Kitchen Conversation"

Today I would like to take a look back in time. The time is the late 1700s; the place is a kitchen in Philadelphia, the people: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. These two friends are engaged in a conversation over a pot of tea; the conversation is about the new constitution they are involved in writing.

“Tom, what do you think we should start out with as our first thoughts on the rights of the people? You always have a word or two on these things”.

Jefferson answered “Well John, we are here because we don’t like being told what to do by Old George, we like our freedom, my friend. Unfortunately, when we speak out, we are sometimes jailed or worse for our opinions; George doesn’t like criticism very much; you know what I mean?  I believe we better start out with the freedom to say whatever you want to; you know, without fear from our government hauling us off to jail for speaking out. Yes, I believe that should be number one alright!”

Adams went on to say “That will certainly be a novel idea Tom, and I’m sure it will be well received by the people; we colonists are an opinionated bunch and prone to speak out. That definitely should top the list! What’s next, my friend? My thinking is something about self- protection; you know Old George would love to take every pistol and musket away from us.”

Jefferson agreed and said “The people must retain the right to protect themselves, even from the government when it infringes on their freedoms; they should be able to form a militia just in case of government oppression.”

 

“Now you’ve got something there Tom; we all want and need our weapons and every citizen will go along with that!”

 

Adams injected “Our homes are our sanctums, and we should have the right to restrict them to those who we wish to allow in; no person or government should be allowed to violate that right.”

 

“Good thought John, and our privacy is something we should also protect; no government should be able to invade our privacy without cause. Private conversations and private correspondence belong only to those for whom they are designated and no one else!”

“No person should be arrested without charge and proper complaint; we must adhere to a system of laws applicable to all and the government must show cause before any arrest can be made.” “John, I believe we are making real progress here!”

 

“Yes Tom, and no one shall be held for an indefinite period without a fair trial; justice should be served in a timely manner.”

 

“Once a verdict is made, the people involved should not live in the fear that they will be prosecuted for the same offense again; not guilty should be a permanent verdict in all valid cases or the government could seek to persecute those it finds troublesome. What do think about fair bail, John?”

 

“Well Tom, nothing should be so excessive that the average citizen could rot in jail waiting for a trial, yet it should match the severity of the offense that has been alleged. You know we must presume innocence until a trial has taken place and an innocent man must have time to protect himself in court.”

 

“Well said John; every man must have equal protection under the law, regardless of his station in lifel a poor man can be as innocent as a rich man and each should have equal footing in a court of law!”

 

“What about local ordinances in towns and states Tom? Should this new constitution be dealing in those matters too?”

 

“John, most communities know best how to deal with local problems better than those who are located hundreds or thousands of miles away; after all, we are writing this because we have been interfered with by a monarch who has never set foot on any of our soil and we didn’t like that very much. Local governments should handle local issues.”

 

“Well Tom, we’ve just about finished this pot of tea, and I’m a little tired, but I think we have hit on some real issues to bring forward; things that should stand up well for generations. Let’s bring these notes before the rest of the fellows in the morning and see what they think; I believe they’ll like them. Good night my friend, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

I don’t know if this is exactly how it went, but I do believe these good men did have some conversations like this one, and they came up with some pretty good stuff. They didn’t gain much for themselves, but they certainly gained quite a bit for the American people. Let’s try not to forget about this “kitchen conversation” when we watch our government in action. I wish our current leaders could remember it as well!