Compromise: A middle between two truths

At the close of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin spoke to his fellow delegates. He called for a unanimous vote, even while acknowledging that he had his own reservations about some of its provisions. Yet he acknowledged his own fallibility and asked them to confront the danger of their certainty as well:

"Most men "think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far error. Yet, when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does..."

Too many of us are certain our political and policy views are perfection. Franklin reminds us that a democracy depends not so much on perfect solutions as on humble collaboration.

As a side note: Our Constitution was developed in 100 days.