We went out to the Blue Bell Park area of Wissahickon Park for a walk today and I was surprised to see this awesome statue on the top of a rock outcropping along the trail.
I've walked this trail many times but never saw it before. Probably because it was hidden behind the leafed out trees. Or maybe I just kept my eyes on the trail or the lovely Wissahickon creek below.
I immediately wanted to check it out, but worried about the dogs. But we all managed to scramble up the rock outcrop, 50 - 60 feet almost straight up! 2 dogs and an old man.
Wow. It's a statue tribute to William Penn, from 1883: (link)
TOLERATION STATUE
Like many sites within the Wissahickon, the Toleration Statue has a rich history attached to it. Erected in 1883, the marble statue of a man in Quaker clothing is situated on a ridge on the eastern side of the Park just north of the Walnut Lane ridge.
Standing atop Mom Rinker’s Rock, the nine-foot-eight-inch statue has the word “Toleration” carved into its four-foot-three-inch base. Believed to be a likeness of William Penn, the statue’s title reflects the Quaker beliefs of liberty and conscience, which Penn espoused.
Note the location of the statue - on the edge of a cliff - and his visionary glance.
So, why the title "Toleration"?
(an old lawyer’s proverb I honor says: "Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to").
In case it has escaped the current political scene, let me note that this country was founded on Enlightenment principles, which include rationality, science, democracy, separation of Church and State, individual freedom, civic virtue, honest dialogue, free speech, a right to dissent and protest, and yes - pluralism and tolerance, even egalitarianism.
(for the "original intent" Federalist Society types, there are no "markets", or "capitalism" or "corporations" in the US Constitution).
Something to chew on for all those xenophobic, White Christian Nationalist, Fascists Trumpers.
Something also for people of good faith to latch on to in order to block the consolidation of fascist government in an appeal to unachieved American ideals.