This was a question that was in the minds of the framers of the Constitution in creating a republic, which required more of its citizens than a democracy. A republic is dependent on citizens staying educated, informed, self-governing (personal responsibility) and diligent in protecting that republic. Therefore, the framers were always brought back to the basic purpose of Government. When people come together to form a government they must decide what is the most important thing for that government to do. The framers (at least most of them) believed that the purpose of a federal government was to protect the rights of its citizens.
Most of us would say that the purpose of the federal government is to protect us from outside invasion and threats from within the country. That is because we have all grown up at a time in history where our individual rights and freedoms have been gradually restricted. The public/government school system no longer stresses the importance of individual rights, instead they promote group rights. In fact group rights are about all we hear from the American media and the career politicians.
The founders of this nation studied history, especially the history of governments and economics. They found fault in most of the world’s governments in their time and in the past. Noting that the individual was always swallowed up by government and subjugated to the will of the state they opted for uncharted waters by forming a government based on the will of the people or consent of the governed. Power was to be held by the people and not their elected leaders.
If we go back to Chapter I and the discussion on the Ten Commandments, we see God’s foundation for law and government that protects people’s property, reputation and person while allowing each one to pursue their own interests. His law protects the individual as well as the community while allowing liberty for each individual to develop his strengths and abilities to provide for his own family. The model of good government is one that meets the need of protecting individual rights and personal security. With this in mind we should judge our laws by these two things: 1) government does not grant us rights – God does. 2) Good laws should never hinder our basic freedom and rights.
Therefore, what we are experiencing today in our government is not at all what the framers intended. It was never intended that government would step in with laws that protect us from ourselves. That is a self-governance issue and not the purpose of government. Neither is it government’s job to create equality or an equal playing field. That infringes on the individual rights of its citizens and ignores human nature and differences in work ethic. Our founders envisioned a nation that offered equal opportunity to all, not a nation that made, by law, everyone equal. To make everyone equal requires stealing wealth from an individual who has worked hard, taken risks, produced valuable goods and services, and created jobs for others to give to those who have made different choices. If you or I did that it would be called theft and we would be prosecuted. This type of government stifles creativity and opportunity for us all.
As parents, we should realize that trying to protect our children from making bad decisions is not the right way to help them mature. If we are never allowed to suffer the consequences of our mistakes, we will never become the self-governing citizens necessary to maintain a free society because we will always be looking for someone else to bail us out of our circumstances. As rights go, we all have the right to make bad decisions. God gave us a free will so that we could freely seek Him on our own and not out of force. There is just no way for government to make everyone equal in a free society and who wants to live under a government that, through bad policy, essentially limits how much money we can make individually and limits our productivity as a nation. There is no hope for a happy life under that type of regime.
Free markets or free economies offer far more opportunity to move up the economic ladder from low income to middle income to upper income. That is the beauty of our system. That is why so many have given up so much to immigrate to America because of the hope for a better life due to a system that allows for this type of movement up and down the economic ladder. When the government tries to control the economy it hinders that opportunity for all but a few, forcing many into a permanent underclass lifestyle. So the bottom line is that a government that follows Natural Law/God’s Law produces a strong economy by protecting personal and property rights; and allowing citizens the greatest freedom (within reason) to pursue their dreams. Now that we understand the purpose of government we can look further into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to see how the framers depended on God’s principles for good government.
Next Week: In Celebration of the Declaration of Independence
Dinner Table Discussion Question: Discuss the idea of self-governing and personal responsibility within the concept of our laws.