Edmund Burke once wrote,
“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains on their own appetites. Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there is without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.”
We Americans are now facing the greatest expansion of government in the history of our nation, and it is largely the result of our own behavior. We have brought this upon ourselves by our insistence on doing life our own way, unguided by principle and untempered by wisdom. Our representatives in government, and the policies and laws created by them, all reflect this reality: we have strayed far from the values and morals of our Founding Fathers. Where did America go wrong? And how can we get her back?
One problem, as I see it, lies in our attitude about our founding documents. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.†While we rightly understand that the Constitution created a set of chains meant to restrain the force of government, and to keep those in government from causing mischief, there seems to be a disconnect between the purpose of that document, that of setting checks on government power, and the principles behind that purpose.
I have heard spoken, and seen written, the opinions of those who believe that the Constitution only sets limits on government, that it has no effect on the people. While technically correct, this thought misses a greater truth–that the principles of limited government are only the principles of self-government extended to the public square. If it is true that government has no authority that the people individually do not possess, it is also true that the expectations of limits on power exercised by government reflect the limits we impose upon ourselves. In other words, how can we expect a government of, by, and for the people to operate within strict limits when we the people believe we are free to do whatsoever we desire, without regard to laws or principles?
Our government was framed upon republican principles. In contrast, the Founders voiced strong opposition to the establishment of democracy. They understood that republics are governments based upon laws or principles which do not change. Democracy, on the other hand, is simply a majority of the people exercising their will at any given moment. Democracy is thus subject to constant change, and is unstable.
The republican ideal is voiced by John Adams, who said “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He understood that the American republic was grounded in principles based on ultimate truths, without which our government would neither serve the purpose of its creation, nor long survive.
Those principles were enshrined in part in the Declaration of Independence, which acknowledged that rights are the gift of our Creator, and are not a grant of government. The former idea is true republicanism; the latter, democracy.
Our society, however, seems determined to live according to democratic principles, where the immediate will rules the moment. If we are to recover our true form of government, we must, both as a people and as individuals, demonstrate republicanism. We must live privately what our Constitution established publicly, and individually be bound by Law, even if unwritten. The expanse of government power can be seen by the multitudes of laws now on the books, all intended to control every aspect of human existence, from the most public transactions to the most private relations. The underlying belief behind these laws is that men are incapable of governing themselves, and thus must be governed by others.
James Wilson wrote, “Without liberty, law loses its nature and its name, and becomes oppression. Without law, liberty also loses its nature and its name, and becomes licentiousness.” It would indeed be a shame to win the struggle to take back our government and our liberty, only to lose our society to our vices.
