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Reflect:  "A Republic, If You Can Keep It"

8/1/2013

4 Comments

 
Just submitted - and how timely, as the election season ramps up to a full-gale storm.

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By Publius

We’d like to think that our nation’s problems are related to policies. They’re not. Our problems are because, as a nation, we’ve lost our way. We’ve failed to hold true to the exceptional genius embodied in our Founding Documents that created the greatest form of government and the greatest country in human history. 

When asked what the Founders gave us Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it”.  I think we’re rapidly losing our republic.

John Locke provided the world with an elegant tenet: Consent of the governed. Locke’s theory states that if the people of a nation do not agree or "consent" to what their government is doing then it is not a legitimate government....and illegitimate governments have no power to govern the people. Primary emphasis is placed on securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of the government. The genius of Locke’s theory of government is at the heart of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The Declaration of Independence and Washington State Constitution have virtually the same language: “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,…” The consent of the governed is the inherent genius of these documents. It is also the fundamental precept increasingly dismissed by governments at all levels and is unknown or forgotten by citizens. Failure to adhere to consent of the governed is the root cause of the governance problems facing us today. We citizens have abrogated our responsibility to keep government in check by failing to exercise our consent at every attempt by government to impinge on our rights and freedoms. Government is all too willing to fill the void created when we citizens fail to exercise our consent.

If you feel like government is not doing what citizens want you’re not alone. Just 22% believe that government has the consent of the governed. If government is not what we want it to be it’s because we’ve shirked our responsibility to invoke our consent of the governed. Consequently, our individual natural rights and freedoms have eroded.

I believe the solution is more self-governance and less central governance. Self-governance is self-determined citizens exercising their individual liberty, personal and civic accountability, and responsibility for the control of instituted government.

Here are some suggested citizen actions:

·         Remind officials about consent of the governed. Regularly remind government that their power to do anything comes from the consent of the governed.

·         Inform and educate others. Make other citizens aware of their rights, freedoms, and what’s at stake.

·         Exercise eternal vigilance and perseverance. The last sentence in the Declaration of Independence states, “We pledge to each our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” That requires both vigilance and perseverance.

·         Exercise your civic authority. Every citizen has civic authority - the right, responsibility, and power to hold government officials accountable. This goes beyond voting. Each citizen has to be actively and positively engaged. When law-abiding citizens exercise their civic authority and practice civic responsibility they push the burden of government down and self-governance increases.

·         Argue principles, not issues. Rarely does someone change another’s mind on an issue of importance yet that’s what many of us have tried to do in the past – argue our issues. Instead, argue why a given issue supports or violates a fundamental principle you believe in. Fundamental principles are just another name for our inherent, natural rights.

·         Build credibility. Either earn credibility as an individual or acquire it as part of a group or team. Without credibility there is no opportunity to influence.

·         Exercise citizen engagement. Vote. Contact elected officials with letters, emails, and calls. Make personal visits to officials and legislative bodies. Become a candidate for elected office.

·         Learn to communicate effectively. Verbally, non-verbally (body language, gestures, facial expressions, etc), and written. Learn about your audience and craft your message accordingly.

·         Find like-minded citizens and amplify your voice. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Organize a group then hone it into an effective team.

Time is running out. We’re losing our republic. If more citizens are made aware of what government is doing to violate citizens’ natural rights, if more citizens utilize their civic authority to lower the burden of government, and if more citizens routinely invoke consent of the governed we can turn this around. By exercising these self-governance principles we can restore our republic. Don’t wait for someone else to do it; become engaged - now.

4 Comments
Comrade X
8/1/2013 01:45:43 am

What is the role of government in a free society?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LucOUSpTB3Y

Happy belated birthday Milton (yesterday)!

Reply
Riley Sweeney link
8/1/2013 05:37:49 am

I complete agree about Building Credibility. It is why I proudly sign my own name next to everything I write because anonymous commentary has no credibility.

Reply
Michael Anonymous
9/30/2014 04:07:45 am

IRiley, I am amazed at your comment that anonymous commentary has no credibility. Indeed it has perhaps ultimate credibility as it is about the protections one must take when speaking truth to overwhelming power. It reflects a climate of fear that exists in Whatcom County as to anyone who dares speak his or her truth as being so contemptable that they will be harmed or obliterated in some way. It is about authoritarian power who crushes all that it deems the enemy. Think of the French resistance in WW2. Were they not hidden? Were they not hiding in order to survive to fight? If the speaker is anonymous then one must focus on the idea and not the speaker. Isn't the idea is what is most appealing in discussing an argument? I am not the originator of this website I promise you. Yet, I read it to listen to an idea. I do not care who speaks the idea. How do you think resistance works in China? Do you think the anonymous writers have no credibility? That is what you are saying. It is Unbelievable that you would crush speech because you just have to find out who said it, and why is that? In any fight, one must be careful not to cross important barriers to freedom of thought and demonizing anonymous speech is a foolish and dangerous tactic. (By the way, I would have disagreed with your comment even if it was anonymous.)

Reply
Gary Hagland
8/3/2013 03:14:58 pm

Nice sentiments Publius, but everything depends on influencing people to become actively engaged. Strength in numbers and all that. Politicians fear being confronted by the angry crowd carrying pitchforks and torches as it's an indicator of diminishing reelection opportunities.

Most people, unless directly and immediately threatened, won't get involved. They fail to appreciate the longer range implications of bad policies imposed by county. state and federal governments. It would be of great benefit if you published a follow-on essay on ways to motivate the good citizens among us to effectively use your recommendations to oppose the ideologically driven and self-aggrandizing agendas of the those in government and the numerous influence pedaling NGO's that we're cursed with these days.

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