FFQF: Does One Size Fit All?
After an absence from this blog, and from my own meme “Founding Father’s Quote Friday,” I now resume my pen typewriter. I also apologize (do I do that more than I blog, I wonder?) to my readers and to FFQF participants. My absence was the result of necessity.
Today, we pose the question “Does one size fit all?” Meaning, “Is one form of government appropriate to all kinds of peoples, nations, societies, cultures, and so forth?” It seems ridiculous at first to think so, because all people are different; but it seems that it is viewed as unpatriotic these days to say that the United States Constitution, or ‘democracy,’ is not going to work for all people.
Let’s see what Founder Alexander Hamilton had to say about this:
… I hold, with Montesquieu, that a government must be fitted to a nation as much as a coat to and individual; and consequently, what may be good at Philadelphia [the unofficial United States capitol at the time], may be bad at Paris, and ridiculous at Petersburg [then capitol of Russia].
To Marquis de Lafayette, January 6th, 1801
We are told that all people have an inner desire for freedom (which is true), and that therefore all people should experience political freedom no matter what their beliefs, culture, or moral standards.
While this is a nice sentiment, and one would naturally hope that this could be realized, it is a sad impossibility. Only those who are capable of governing themselves in such a way that is consistent with the order, peace, and protection of society, can sustain any form of popular government.
I will no doubt be accused of bigotry by saying this, but it is truth nonetheless. Only the moral standards of God, who created man, are fit to govern man sufficiently and properly. God has made it clear that His word has been revealed to us in the form of the Holy Scriptures. If you have any doubts about this, I would suggest that you research the facts, internal and external. Some of the greatest internal evidences that have convinced me personally of the Scriptures’ superhuman origin are the scientific and medical facts which were hidden within the passages of the Bible, some of which have been discovered only during this past century. Ray Comfort has listed these facts in his book Scientific Facts in the Bible, available at Amazon.com. Another evidence is the Bible codes. Good reads on this subject include Dr. Chuck Missler’s The Cosmic Codes, and W. E. Filmer’s book God Counts. There are many other evidences of the Bible’s accuracy and supernatural origin, but these two categories of evidence are totally mind-blowing.
Free government has worked in America as long as America has respected and observed those standards. When she departed, she departed from her origins of civic freedom as well. Now, we need politicians to look out for us, and protect us from ourselves. Such is the price a nation pays for deserting its own good by deserting God’s law.
10 Responses to “FFQF: Does One Size Fit All?”
May 22nd, 2009 at 5:28 pm
TRUE.
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Welcome back, and well-done post. The only comment I could add is something that many seem to forget today: Many American political freedoms exist because they were a part of our historical background. Successful political freedoms do not thrive in regions where there is no or little historical basis to draw on… it’s alien to them. With the exception of Japan in 1945 – are there many countries where we tried to incorporate ‘democracy’ and it took hold and became an inherent practice of the people in a short time? We may have rebelled against England, but our government was founded in 150 years of quasi-democratic practice.
-Just a thought from someone ready to turn in for the night.
May 25th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Hey Herc,
Have you seen this quote by Washington, at the least it shows he believed in Calvin's depravity of man:
"The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institutions may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest of purposes. Should, hereafter, those who are intrusted with the management of this government, incited by the lust of power & prompted by the supineness or venality of their Constituents, overleap the known barriers of this Constitution and violate the unalienable rights of humanity: it will only serve to shew, that no compact among men (however provident in its construction & sacred in its ratification) can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable–and if I may so express myself, that no wall of words–that no mound of parchmt can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other. But [MHi: Waterston Papers]"
-First Inaugural Fragment in Washington's Handwriting.
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/inaugural/fragments.html
June 4th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Hey Herc,
My wife and I have did some brainstorming on Romans 13, I've also written a post on my blog; let me know what you think.
My view on "submission" may be changing to more of a calvinist interpretation, how about you?
OFT
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 am
hello… hapi blogging… have a nice day! just visiting here….
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
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July 6th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Our right to vote and have our say is proof that one strict government is not best for all people. Even our state regulations vary, and cities have different ordinances based on the needs and practices of different people. The only thing that is universal and best for all is freedom to choose.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Great post.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
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December 27th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hello all. Thank you for your comments. My apologies for my belated response. Hopefully I will interact a little bit more on time from now on, now that the blog has finally moved.
Mike — Interesting reflections. And I think the reason Japan was an exception is because General MacArthur realized that the key to the success of the experiment of liberty in Japan was dependent upon the influence of Christianity; and he desperately pleaded with his countrymen to send missionaries to Japan. Where the law of God abides in the hearts of a people, they do not need as much the external restraints of civil power.
OFT — Yes, I have seen the quote by Washington. And yes, it does demonstrate his belief in the depravity of human nature, and his belief in the inspiration of the Scriptures.
What could be a more unequivocal statement concerning his Christian beliefs? Any obstinacy on the part of this only demonstrates how unwilling some are to put their a priori assumptions that Washington was not a real Christian aside (or treat them merely as their own theories, and not as already-established fact, as they have nothing conclusive) and simply look at the evidence, and follow it where it leads.
As for your Romans 13 post — yes, I would love to read it! I am actually going to write another one (I hope sometime in the near future); it is a subject that I don’t think I treated concisely or satisfactorily enough on my post on this site. When I read yours (which I will do as soon as possible), I will let you know. Thank you.
Ares Vista — Welcome to my blog. Thanks for commenting. I agree with you that one strict government is not best for all people, and that people should have some say in their government. However, it would not be good for any people that is not self-governing (in the sense of “self-controlled and self-regulating”) to have a weak government. Order needs to be maintained in order for society to exist — in order for people to exist, and if that order is not maintained internally, it will automatically be maintained externally. That’s the way the laws of nature are set up.
Again, thank you all for your thoughtful comments.
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