Now that finals are done, prepare yourself for the storm of half-finished thoughts and ideas that I've been storing on this blog for a long time. Now that I have time, you'll be seeing a lot more. Woohoo!
Another semester has come and gone. This was probably my best semester yet (and by best I mean hardest). Four countries, new friends, life lessons, lots of maturing, Student Body Presidency, NHS Treasurer, Class President in three classes, yeah. It was good. But the best things to come out of it are probably the lessons I learned from studying the U.S government and philosophy, believes, and priorities that are behind it. (The principles listed below are a mixture of government philosophy, the U.S constitution, and personal opinion).
The Fountain of Authority
The Government's purpose, according to Kirk, is to protect our freedoms and provide order. The Government's order is to serve the people, not the other way around. The Fountain of Authority is the people. The culture. The family. We the people give the government its authority. In return, the government protects our freedoms and provides order. Anything else strays away from the purpose of the constitution and violates the 10th Amendment of the U.S constitution, which protects against the federal government doing things other than what it was authorized to do by the powers listed in the constitution. That being said, authority is not given automatically. The people have to raise their voice and give their authority. If the people are not actively involved in the government, then what is the purpose of having a constitution, checks on powers, and due process of law? We might as well be ruled instead of governed. Be the authority. Don't be authorized.
Factions
No, this is not Divergent. But the same principle is in place. Factions can be defined as "groups of people, minority or majority, united by common interests/passions. They are also groups whose passions/opinions irritate the passions/interests of others. Two or more people who see the world similarly enough on one issue create a faction. They lobby and advocate for that change which they are partial to". The only two ways to destroy factions are to destroy liberty and equalize passions. Both are awful, but in my opinion, equalize passions is the worst. To equalize passions means that everyone is the same (read: socialism). The point of civil and political society is not to make everyone the same, but instead to encourage, advocate for, and support passions, opinions, interests, and ideas in government and in society everywhere else. When there are factions, change is made, society improves, and living life is easier. Factions are a good thing. As long as the separation of interests does not turn into a separation of society.
The U.S Constitution
*steps on soapbox* *clears throat* *yells* "THE U.S CONSTITUTION IS THE COOLEST THING EVER. EVERYONE GO READ IT. I LOVE THE CONSTITUTION. 'MURICA." *steps off soapbox*
Anyways.
Let's review the preamble to the constitution.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The constitution puts checks and balances on powers in the government, mixes the forms of Government found within the Kyklos Cycle, and gives liberty and justice for all. The constitution is a rigid but forgiving document. It allows the people to keep their life, liberty, and property, yet still gives the government power. As a written constitution or law, it protects men against men, men against government, government against government. It makes our lives so much easier by allowing the legislative, executive or judicial branch to do it, but also gives us a civic duty and sense of national pride. That, in my opinion, is an indicator of a superior law and government. It gives each branch of government checks and balances on their power, allows the branches to put checks and balances of power on other branches, empowers the people, and creates an established and secure nation.
The U.S constitution is an inspired document from Heavenly Father. In D&C 101:77-80 it says 77 According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
80 And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.
In 1898, the Founding Fathers with George Washington at their head appeared to the LDS prophet Wilford Woodruff and demanded temple ordinances.
The U.S constitution established a government where the right to exercise and the establishment of religion was listed as an inalienable right of the American people (the 1st Amendment). For thousands of years, the Lord had prepared the world for the restoration of the gospel, and the American Revolution and Constitutional Convention was one of the final events of this preparation. What good would it have done if the gospel was restored in a country where religious freedom was not protected? Very few countries at that time protected that right (shoutout to Switzerland). The constitution was written and America established for the restoration of the gospel.
To summarize my feelings about the constitution, I will quote LDS prophet George Albert Smith when he said: "I am saying to you that to me, the Constitution of the United States of America is just as much from my Heavenly Father as the Ten Commandments."
(All scriptures, quotes, and thoughts came from this article. I highly recommend reading it, LDS or not. It provides a great religious mixed with political perspective of the constitution. Plus some pretty cool facts about the founders and the stories behind the Constitutional Convention).
Although I learned so much more than what was written about in this post, these are my main takeaways from Government and Economics A. I encourage everyone to read and study the constitution to understand their rights as American citizens that way when you are called upon to make a change, you will be prepared and educated with the best supreme law - ever.
Go out. Make a change. Learn. Live. Elevate.
Savannah
