----- THE PENNY
Suppose our civilization was destroyed and our cities laid completely in
waste. Suppose in the far future archaeologists from another society
were poking around the ruins of one of our cities. If they could dig up
just one penny, they would know this about us. The coin is made of a
blend of metals; that would tell them that we were miners and knew the
science of metallurgy. By the shape of the coin, a perfect circle,
they'd know that we understood geometry. The wheat on the back of the
coin would tell them that we had been a great agricultural country.
They'd know that we considered our fine crops a major source of our
wealth. The date on the face of the coin would show them we understood
arithmetic and that we had a calendar.
The portrait of Abraham Lincoln
would mark us as artists who had an advanced culture. The words "United
States" would let them know that we were a federated group of local
communities bound together by a strong central government. The phrase "e
pluribus unum" would tell them we were scholars who knew foreign
languages. The word "liberty" right on the face of the penny would let
the archaeologists know that our country sought to guarantee freedom for
every man. And finally, the phrase "In God We Trust" would tell them we
had a moral law. It would let them know that we had grown strong and
mighty under God's great hand. And then, considering the penny, they
might wonder - Why did we go astray?
Suppose our civilization was destroyed and our cities laid completely in
waste. Suppose in the far future archaeologists from another society
were poking around the ruins of one of our cities. If they could dig up
just one penny, they would know this about us. The coin is made of a
blend of metals; that would tell them that we were miners and knew the
science of metallurgy. By the shape of the coin, a perfect circle,
they'd know that we understood geometry. The wheat on the back of the
coin would tell them that we had been a great agricultural country.
They'd know that we considered our fine crops a major source of our
wealth. The date on the face of the coin would show them we understood
arithmetic and that we had a calendar.
The portrait of Abraham Lincoln
would mark us as artists who had an advanced culture. The words "United
States" would let them know that we were a federated group of local
communities bound together by a strong central government. The phrase "e
pluribus unum" would tell them we were scholars who knew foreign
languages. The word "liberty" right on the face of the penny would let
the archaeologists know that our country sought to guarantee freedom for
every man. And finally, the phrase "In God We Trust" would tell them we
had a moral law. It would let them know that we had grown strong and
mighty under God's great hand. And then, considering the penny, they
might wonder - Why did we go astray?
