Separation of Powers

In the 18th-century, Philadelphia was the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. Outside of London, it was the most culturally significant English-speaking city. Dr. Franklin's inventions and civic “firsts”, the Quaker emphasis on freedom of religion, the Constitution, all contributed to the aura of the “Athens on the Delaware”.

Today we are the 6th largest city in the US, and clearly not the leader in media or business that we once were. We have fabulous cultural and educational institutions, yet we are not in the group of world class cities such as New York, Paris, or Tokyo.

I thought about this as I passed the archaeological dig near Independence Hall. It is the site of the President's house before the young republic created the new Federal City and built The White House. I wondered, why did this new nation relocate its capital from this important city to a mosquito-infested swamp on the Potomac?
One reason is that more than a few of our founding generation feared that having the seat of political power well inside the then-center of financial power was inherently dangerous. We should remember that the issue in the early years of our republic was fear of concentration of power. Everything in our Constitution was placed there due to that fear. Federalism, enumerated boundaries of central authority, a bicameral legislature, defined terms of office, and the Bill of Rights all existed for one purpose only - to prevent abuse of power.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were heroes of the Revolution against monarchy and for governing at the consent of the governed. And yet, even their individual unchecked power would have bathed the new nation in blood. Jefferson, the unyielding proponent of public education and a skeptic about the power of organized religion, praised the French Revolution long after it degenerated into mindless slaughter. Ever the romantic revolutionary, he would have welcomed something similar here as a periodic necessity. Adams is largely responsible for the independence of the judiciary. He lectured incessantly about the need for checks and balances on abuse of government power. But he passed the short-lived Alien and Sedition Acts, which fined, jailed, and deported people for criticizing the government.

Bad for my hometown, but good for the nation, they made the right decision to move the capital. Because even noble abolitionist Quakers living in the “Athens on the Delaware” would have mixed with the emerging banking and industrial families and eventually abused their power. So whichever groups of forthright people with high-minded intentions one finds heroic and selfless, whether the NSA or the NEA, whether big oil with tax breaks or the new subsidized corn oil millionaires, mixed with enough money, all bureaucracies and constituencies will eventually abuse their power.

A Perfect Development

There are no deer in Deer Path, nothing rambles in Ramblewood.
No Eagles in the Oak trees, no oaks left that are any good.

Imaginary willows wave; invented pheasants call.
And the Cherry Trees in Cherry Hill are at the Food Court at the Mall.

Acre lots and sunrooms, 6 bedrooms each with bath.
Perfect for three people, go ahead, you do the math.

Custom moldings, hardwood floors, man-made pond and brook.
Built-in kitchen cabinetry and a library with no books.

We've hardly used the living room; we're here since '92.
For all intents and purposes, the furniture's brand new.

The party's down the block kids, but we have to take the car.
They didn't build any sidewalks here, so even near is far.

We have lots of privacy, people kept at bay.
Those that robbed us loved that; it kept the neighbors far away.
But we see our neighbors everywhere; the school, the soccer meet.
We see our neighbors everywhere except on our own street.

The Jenn-Air went in a year ago, their best, it's stainless steel.
Commercial grade appliances to make our gourmet meals.

But we've been so very busy, I guess it's just as well.
That's why our year-old Jenn-Air still has that new car smell.

These towels are Egyptian cotton, and that's the very best.
Those we love can't use them; they're exclusively for guests.

Little Ethan's home from school; he's not feeling well.
Worried sick at 10 years old about acceptance to Cornell.

This is my perfect development, and it's called Surrey Station.
Perfect for almost everything except human habitation.

Aunt Gerry, A Secret Life in 1966

Mt. Airy, in the northwestern part of Philadelphia, was the last stop before the suburbs. Row houses, but ones with lawns, driveways, and garages. Yet it was still the mid-1960's, and few had air conditioning or color TV. Our Emerson television set had channels 3 (NBC), 6 (ABC), 10(CBS), and 12(PBS), not even UHF. Others had UHF, and all the kids gathered at their houses to watch Tobor the 8th Man, Speed Racer, and Ultra-Man.

My closest friend, Alan – his family bought a color TV. And they were also the first ones on the block to have central air conditioning. On Wednesday nights, all the kids in the neighborhood went to Alan's to watch Batman. ABC made the most use of color with that show...by overdoing reds and purples as much as possible. Looking back at the reruns, I think there were a lot people like me, huddled with many others in the living room of a neighbor's house oohing and ahhing over the bright, bright colors on the caped crusaders' outfits. Black and white seemed so passe.

Alan's mother Millie had a sister, and we all called her Aunt Gerry. I guess short for Geraldine. Aunt Gerry would often visit Alan's family, and she would stop in across the street to say hello to my parents, my brother, and me. She was very friendly. She never came with anyone, no kids or husband. I liked Aunt Gerry but noticed that she, unlike most other women her age, had very short hair and always wore a black leather jacket. It was one of those thoughts you don't even know you're noticing, just something that would sneak to the back of your mind and reside there for years until the thought decided to advance a few paces. I was in my 40's before I realized that Aunt Gerry was a lesbian. It just occurred to me one day out of the blue. I brought it up in conversation with my mother, and she had come to the same conclusion many years ago when we actually knew Gerry. But nobody spoke of such things back then. It was the 1960's, and yet it might as well have been the 1360's.

Often I have wondered what it must have been like for Gerry, a very nice, kind lady living her entire life in the shadows, never being able to be who she really was. Never knowing if the people who she had always said hello to in the neighborhood, all those who engaged in small talk with her, would ignore her or worse if they knew who she really was.