1776: When courage defined America's political class

AS WE CONTINUE to witness the genuflecting by some Democrats before the Republican hard-liners on Capitol Hill, it is obvious that they haven't learned much about the costs of running away from issues they once supported. Having fallen to their knees long before the ballots were counted, they lost anyway to the myths posed by their rivals. The Blue Dogs, ever fearful of losing an alley brawl on such issues as health care, taxes and Wall Street reforms, cut and ran without courage and honor.

The political class was quite different in the creation of the Declaration of Independence. They were well aware of the grave risks: The 56 men who signed the historic document knew that if their mission failed they would be strung up as traitors to the Crown. Neither side in today's ugly debate over moving the country forward comes close to measuring up to the colonists whose courage has led to the system that even allows for today's self-serving political cowards.

As Ben Franklin warned at the time: "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately."