THE CENTERPIECE OF CARTOON NO. 4

We are born into history at a specific time and place. They become our given. Some people accept them as natural, some shrug, and some see how different things could be--and act.

One day, when those of us now alive are a distant memory, people will look back in wonder that we did not do more to protect the planet. They will shake their heads and wag their tongues. But for us, we know that no matter how much the President of the United States wants to make the necessary adjustments, the opposition in the House and the Senate will not permit it. And so, as the leader of the Republic, he does what is possible, not what is perfect.

Whenever the three-fifths clause is brought up, it is, usually, done so in condemnation. But what gets lost are the circumstances. Without the compromise, "the more perfect Union," to cite the Preamble, could not have been formed. The Articles of Confederation, which were inadequate in war and peace, would have remained in place. And the United States of America would have been a name, not a reality.

The South wanted to count blacks as whole persons, not because of their large hearts and spirits, but for power. They would then have had increased representation in the House. And looking back at how things played out, one does not need much imagination to see the additional stumbling blocks that would have been placed in the path of progress.