We constantly hear about the need to hear the opposing point of view from the other side. Well and good, for by hearing what the dissenters say about truth strengthens the argument for the truth. The founders debated all the alternatives available and settled on a constitutional republic for the final authority for the government.

There is a biblical principle that parallels their work which can be applied to the Constitution. It is found in Acts 17:22-23: Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. [Acts 17:23] For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. In essence Paul told the men that it was fine for them to have all the discussions, and now he was going to tell them about the right way. The founders did the same thing and then set the way for the government in stone so to speak, the Constitution of the United States.

When the Constitutional Convention was over, a lady asked Benjamin Franklin about the type of government they had created to which he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” A republic is a system in which the people elect their peers to office and who make laws pursuant to a higher authority than themselves, in this case the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of their respective states. No matter the subject, the final authorities are the guiding documents of the respective levels of government.

What are the alternatives continually used to challenge the authority of the respective documents? First to be discussed are the socialist oriented forms of government known as communism, fascism, and socialism and one which isn’t socialist in nature, a democracy.  Communism is a system in which nearly all industry is owned and of course controlled by the state. The various government ministries control manufacturing, kind of product, amount, and the distribution of goods. It also speaks to equality of all through each having equality of material goods. The system leaves no room for God and human initiative and deals with draconian measures when any attempts at freedom are made. Such attempts destroy the Communist state program of creating equality. An honest appraisal of the system reveals it to be a pernicious religion which enslaves people.

Fascism is not as severe as communism though it can be. The fascist system allows for private ownership of businesses but tells the owners how to operate the businesses. The state controls everything from initial stock of merchandise to the price of goods, and of course, the allowable profits which aren’t much. Any violation of the dictates of fascist laws and the officials who enforce the laws brings harsh penalties for not obeying the system. (A form of fascism is very much in evidence in this nation with the government telling businesses who to serve, where to allow smoking, and what type of advertisement is allowable, to name a few of the encroachments by government.)

Socialism is less of an intrusion than the two former types though it too is designed to bring government control by instituting programs so that the government will play a large roll in giving direct aid to citizens through social programs enacted by law making bodies. The principle means of funding the programs is gained by taxing wages of the workers so the money paid to the government can be redistributed to the recipients of the largesse. Individual citizens own and operate their own businesses but must conform to the dictates of the federal and state entities or face prosecution. Anytime government at any level intrudes into private business affairs freedom and liberty is sure to suffer. (Think minimum wage at this point for example.)

Simply put, democracy is a system in which the citizens control every facet of the government. In the sum, the citizen votes on issues of all types and the majority rules, and if the rights of the minority are denied it makes no difference. In a democracy there isn’t a binding set of laws or rules that determine the direction of a nation. The citizens are free to make laws to conform to public whim. In a republic ballot initiatives are a popular way of passing laws to do what legislatures won’t do and are similar in operation to that of a democracy. Many state constitutions allow for the initiatives.

All the government types have one thing in common and that is there isn’t any standard for them except whatever a human decides to do. There isn’t any room for God; freedom and liberty are shoved aside so that the various schemes of the state and individual whim can rule the day. While the so called other side can protest and whine that the constitution and the republic work against the neediest and doesn’t allow change of things due to changing conditions of society, there isn’t any alternative to our form of government if freedom and liberty is to survive.

Forces are constantly at work to change our republic into a socialist nation or worse. The main task is to keep the republic as given to us by the founders and shun the opposing point of view of the other side.

© 01-24-2006 DEC

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