October 10, 2007
by Clay Barham

After 115 years without an image of an American President on a circulating American coin, President Teddy Roosevelt in 1909 suggested the image of Abraham Lincoln be stamped on one side of the new penny.  The images chosen to appear on circulating American coins was, up until then, a politically correct statement of difference between America and the Old World. 

Extending back to the beginning of coinage, the Old World ruler's image always appeared on one side.  America rejected tyranny of the one or few, and the images placed on a coin were never to include an American political personality, just as honors or titles were never given to individuals.  Since Lincoln, we now have Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin and others, many of whom would have objected to their images on our money, except, perhaps, Alexander Hamilton.

The image of an eagle, or a Phoenix rising from the ashes of the past, would have been the more appropriate image, as each signifies more the destiny of America as seen by those who helped establish her independence from the Old World.  Today, a coin with the image of a president, as an elected version of "ruler," with an eagle on the obverse, may suggest a way to look at the two major political differences existing on this planet. 

The side with the image of a ruler, such as a king or queen from the Old World, demonstrates the rule of the one or few over the many.  It claims the interests of the nation or community is more important than the interests of any individual.  That is the kind of governance the world is most familiar.  The tyranny of the few, ruling the many, is the politically correct kind of system most everyone has experienced and been conditioned to accept.

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The other side of the coin, with an eagle on it, would signify the freedom of the solitary individual who pursues his, or her, legitimate self-interests.  It represents individual freedom, from which prosperity is achieved by the one, his family and community.  The two sides of the coin represent these two political differences.  In the New World, individual freedom was politically correct.  In the Old World, the representation of a ruler on the coin suggested that compliance with tyranny was politically correct.  The two sides of the coin would be in conflict, as neither is capable of coexisting in the same land with the other. 

It is, today, a choice Americans of the 21st century must make again, as was once the choice of Americans during colonial and civil war times.  In earlier years, Americans had a passion for liberty.  They would never tolerate rulers making decisions for them.  Today, we can assume almost half of those living in the United States would be quick to kneel to a new American ruler, and when voting in 2008 will pick tyranny.

The two sides of the coin make the choice visible.  The one side is the rule of the one or few over the many, where community interests, as defined by the few, are always of greater value than the whims, passions and interests of individuals.  The other side, found only in America, claims the legitimate self-interests of the individual are more important. 

From freedom for all individuals, in America, came prosperity never before realized in the world.  Freedom opened the path to prosperity for individuals, their families and communities.  Tyranny blocks that path, as it leaves to the minions and bureaucrats serving the few who rule, the choices that would otherwise be made by individuals

The success or failure of what George Washington himself said was "this great experiment," of America, depends on our ability to stay away from the trappings of dictatorship.  Stamping an image of, say Bill and Hillary Clinton on an American coin may honor them, but dishonors what our Founding Fathers gave us, going back to the 1620 Pilgrim landing, the separation from Britain, and our Civil War.  When it comes time to pull the levers and make your choices at the ballot box, take a coin with you and flip it a few times.  Call for heads or tails, tyranny or freedom, then vote.

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Clay Barham [send him email] has been a candidate for the California legislature and a stand-in talk show host for ABC.  He was educated in physical and behavioral sciences, with a Ph.D. in sociology.  He is the author of five books, with his latest being Foundations of Modern American Conservatism and Liberalism: The Roots of Freedom and Tyranny.  Visit his website at http://www.claysamerica.com.