Free Press – January 25, 2007

Arthur Caplan and Benjamin Franklin’s Ethics, Charlie Allebach, Better Sex with Exercise, Quakertown School District Court Decision

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Today’s topics are: Charlie Allebach retires as Souderton Mayor; a Bucks County judge dismisses a suit to have the nine Quakertown school board directors elected at large; a famous bioethicist’s view of Benjamin Franklin’s ethics on Franklin’s 301^st birthday; and the wisdom of a Barack Obama/John McCain presidential ticket.

But first, here’s some useful information.

One of my college pals sent me a note about a study from “Consumer Reports on Health” [magazine]. Researchers concluded that middle-aged men who engage in aerobic exercise- such as jogging, riding a stationary bicycle or running in place- increased the frequency of sexual intercourse from an average of nine times a month to 12. Eureka!

And now to business. First, the local items of importance...in my opinion.

“After more than 40 years of service and 2,400 marriage ceremonies, Souderton Mayor Charlie Allebach Jr. is calling it quits,” the Morning Call reported (Jan. 19). Charlie Allebach and I’ve known each other for four decades. I first met him when I was a Bucks County Commissioner in 1966. He always impressed me because Charlie was an excellent leader…one not afraid of controversy. For example, he had the courage to propose that the boroughs of Souderton and Telford, plus the surrounding townships should merge. He was right 40 years ago and he still is.

Here are two key paragraphs from a letter Charlie sent to me on July 8, 2004. “I know we share the same opinion of Pennsylvania’s fragmented local government structure,” he began. “I’ve been preaching for years to consolidate the six municipalities in the Souderton Area School District into the Third Class city of Indian Valley. Instead of thirty-eight elected officials, you would need about six. Likewise with managers, police chiefs, and facilities. As a Third Class city, we would be eligible for state and federal aid that the six individual municipalities don’t have.

The savings are evident. You could be more selective in finding six candidates rather then thirty-eight. The problem of identity always surfaces when you discuss consolidation. There’s no reason why Souderton, Telford, or Franconia [Township] should loose their identity. The city of Philadelphia still has its Roxborough, Manaynank, etc., etc.

“Oliver Wendell Holmes said it all: “It is revolting to have no better reason for a municipal governmental structure than that it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still more revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and this structure simply persists from blind imitation of the past.”

Charlie Allebach’s absolutely correct.

Unfortunately, at least two reasons prevent municipal consolidations. The first is that most elected officials enjoy being a power in their fiefdom. The second is that paid advisors, like lawyers, solicitors, engineers, and consultants will be the last to suggest change…because their fees would shrink or end. That’s why the boroughs of Quakertown, Richlandtown, and Trumbauersville, plus the townships of Haycock, Milford, and Richland won’t consolidate.

Related item.

Last week, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Robert Mellon rejected arguments that the Quakertown school district’s board of directors should be elected on an at large basis. School director Paul Stepanoff and Richland Township Supervisor Rick Orloff led the fight, collecting more than 1,400 signatures in support of the idea. But a majority of the present school board opposed the at large concept because it worried that one group, or one municipality, could “hijack” the school board.

That’s absurd. What should happen is that voters from all six municipalities, comprising the school district, should pick the best nine candidates, regardless of where they live in the Quakertown area. What’s wrong with all nine board members coming from Quakertown, or Richlandtown, or Trumbauersville, or Haycock, or Milford, or Richland if voters approve? Alas, it’s the same old, same old. The present directors are perfectly happy with the status quo.

Unfortunately, the state legislature is the only source of relief from this parochial thinking. And since the Pennsylvania General Assembly has one of the worst reputations in America, nothing will change anytime soon.

Item.

Last Wednesday, I heard Dr. Arthur Caplan give a lecture about Benjamin Franklin’s view of ethics. Thanks to an invitation from my friend, Peggy Adams, I was able to take in Caplan’s lecture, “Practical Ethics- Ben Franklin Then, Bioethics Today.” Caplan is the Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He’s written nine books. The most recent, “Smart Mice, Not-So-Smart People,” discusses 80 moral dilemmas, each covering only a few pages. It’s dynamite reading.

Like his book, Caplan speculated how Franklin would have weighed in on very thorny topics…like end of life decisions, how to make organ transplants widely available, cloning, abortion, and embryonic stem cell research, just to name a few. Next week, I’ll give you a full report about what Caplan told his audience.

Before I leave the subject, Caplan visited Franklin’s 12 virtues including Franklin’s short definitions of each. (Actually there are 13.) 1. Temperance: “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.” 2. Silence: “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.” 3. Order: “Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.” 4. Resolution: “Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.” 5. Frugality: “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; (i.e., waste nothing).”

6. Industry. “Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. Sincerity: “Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 8. Justice: “Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. Moderation: “Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.” 10. Cleanliness: “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.” 11. “Tranquility: “Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. Chastity: “Rarely use venery [sexual intercourse] but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation. (I wonder why Franklin chose the word, “rarely” rather than “only?”)

“A Quaker friend “kindly” informed Franklin that he had left something off,” Walter Isaacson wrote in his epic book, “Benjamin Franklin, an American Life.” Franklin’s Quaker friend said that Franklin was often guilty of “pride,” citing many examples, and could be “overbearing and rather insolent.” So Franklin added “humility” to be the thirteenth virtue on his list. “Imitate Jesus and Socrates,” he wrote.

Next week, I’ll write about a National Public Radio interview with a Washington Post columnist who believes that the time is right for a presidential election which features running mates from opposing political parties…rather like the genius of Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who chose a Democrat as his Vice President in 1864 during the Civil War…or President John Adams, a Federalist, who picked Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, as his V.P. Come to think of it, what do you think of a ticket with Barack Obama and John McCain on it?

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith