The Voice of the People - On behalf of the one

Dr. Tim Nerenz posted a great article explaining why all citizens should tell the government to back off from regulating church teachings and practice.  It is a well-done piece, but perhaps he didn’t go far enough.  This debate over forcing employers to cover contraceptives is a matter not only of religion, but also of conscience.  We are quibbling over whether the government can force someone to pay for contraceptives, but the same arguments could be applied to paying taxes to support what some label as an immoral war, or to indoctrinate our neighbor’s children in state institutions, or even to enforce the temperature at which food is served.  The only difference here is that Obama is treading on the toes of an organized religion and not an unaffiliated mass of individuals.  I would argue that this must be a violation of the first amendment.  If “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”, then why does the violation of the tenants of the Catholic church carry more weight than the violation of the conscience of any American?  The Catholic church serves a large number of Americans so it seems ridiculous that Obama would seemingly provoke them deliberately, but would it be any better if it were only one?  The whole issue throws into sharp focus how our political dialogue has wandered away from the concept of liberty.  Perhaps Dr. Tim stopped short because he feared that if everyone saw the inconsistencies in our system we would end up with an uprising.  I do NOT in any way support an uprising.  I’m not even sure I support Thoreau’s conscientious objection to paying taxes that support an immoral regime.   We have mechanisms in place to democratically remove the usurpers of our liberty.  If we do not do so, we deserve what we get.

Democracy is a very dangerous thing.  Plato hated democracy because he saw its logical conclusion first hand.  Socrates was condemned to death because he was a constant source of annoyance.  Annoy enough people—or, today, have a large enough bank account—and a democracy is sure to take everything you have:  property, liberty, life.  Athens was the “cradle of democracy” which was a pejorative term until well after the founding of America, because with the coming of democracy:

“From this time the People became altogether idle and unnactive; they received the same pay for sitting at home and doing nothing but attending the publick Diversions as they did for serving their country abroad, and the former was without question the easiest duty.—Military Glory had then no weight; the orators ruled the People coaxing them with new schemes of additional wealth and often overruled the most experienced commanders, turning them, continuing them or changing them as they thought fit. Levies were then seldom voted and where they were, as seldom made. The Athenians from being the most enterprising people in Greece were now become the most idle and unnactive.”

Contrast this with the current perception of democracy.  There currently popular notion seems to be that the will of the people sanctifies any action.  Here we read “Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.” 

We’ve all heard examples of mob rule, right?  Not pretty.

To continue the quote: “And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.”

Ouch.

So, the point here isn’t that democracy is good, it is just that the mistakes and prejudices of a thousand people are more likely to cancel each other out, at least compared to a dictator who merely argues his selfishness against his own conscience.

The brilliance of our “founding fathers” was that while they allowed a sort of a democracy where the will of the people had the power to change things, either to eliminate tyranny and oppression (let’s list Constitutional Amendments 13, 15, 19, and 21) or to increase it (16 and 18? the federal reserve system?), they inserted brakes in the system so that we did not destroy ourselves too quickly.  Because we have a republic, the voice of the people does not automatically translate into policy—but it does steer the direction our country is headed in.  Are we headed towards liberty or slavery?

How do we change it?  It’s not by lobbying or protesting or suing the government, at least not directly.  We change the course our country is charting by changing the hearts and minds of her people.  Teach, write, proclaim, sing, and celebrate liberty, righteousness, and TRUTH.  Stand up for rights of others, even if you don’t agree with them, by speaking out.  BE the voice of the people, and speak for the rights of the ONE.

Does it matter who gets elected?  A little.  But we get the policies we deserve.