That America has changed in the 250 years of her existence as an independent nation is axiomatic. And that is not altogether a bad thing, of course. There is this matter called “progress,” and all people everywhere deserve it. Progress requires change, but that of a beneficial sort.
Truly, not all change is good. Some alterations are, indeed, disastrous. Try to change a man into a woman and the results will be forever catastrophic, not only to the individual who attempts it, but to any society which largely accepts and celebrates such a lie. Denying reality is always ultimately harmful. Look at the current chaos in America caused by the “transgender” movement as evidence. Other destructive modifications by the Left could equally be noted.
Truth does not change. It is absolute and eternal, can never be honestly amended, and any attempts to modify it only produce falsehoods and will be detrimental to those who believe them and put them into practice. Some American changes have been good. Some have been horribly negative, and, in the past generation or so, it is the latter type that have predominated.
Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, elected in 1800 and served two terms. Jefferson was not a Christian and, indeed, occasionally had some negative things to say about the Bible. It has been claimed that he was a “deist,” which means, in effect, that God set the world in motion and has since never interfered with it, either miraculously or providentially. Whether “deist” accurately describes Mr. Jefferson or not is irrelevant to this column.
I want to share with you, in a couple of articles, some words Mr. Jefferson spoke in his presidential inaugural address of 1800. Here is one quote, with some analyzation following:
“Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own federal and republican principles…”
Jefferson was certainly a believer in limited government; his name is almost synonymous with it. Herein we see one of the reasons why. Let’s look at it.
1. “Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself.” Plato said, and Jefferson would no doubt have agreed, “The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.” Most people have difficulty governing themselves, conquering themselves, overcoming the lazy, evil, and negative tendencies that seem to plague each of us to one degree or another. Very few people are able to consistently conquer their will to selfish behavior. Jefferson then notes the logical consequences to this point.
2. “Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others?” If a person can’t control himself, if he can’t even master his own will and actions, then by what principle can we argue that he should be given the power to govern others? Do you want to be governed by someone who can’t even govern himself? This is a powerful argument for limited government. As James Madison wrote, “All men having power ought to be mistrusted.” I would add, especially those who lust after it. And even more so, it should never be given to those who have proven they can’t govern themselves.
There are maybe a small minority who can. John Adams (who vehemently opposed democracy as a form of government) said, “Individuals have conquered themselves; nations and large bodies never.” You might be able to find a few people of outstanding merit and character who truly know how to use power wisely. Very few, but a few. But even they should be “mistrusted” (Madison). Finding them is the problem. Most people give abundant evidence that they struggle mightily to control their own lusts, desires, appetites, will, and character, and mobs (majorities) never can. Such people should never be given power over others.
3. “Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.” Jefferson was no monarchist, indeed, won the election of 1800 on the fear of many that Adams, Hamilton, and the Federalist Party wanted to return the country to that form of government. History does abundantly teach that no angel ever sat on a human throne. Or in any other position of governmental authority, either. The great conundrum is, no human is an angel. Indeed, as Madison said, “If all men were angels, we wouldn’t need government.” But alas, since no man is an angel, some government is necessary. The eternal problem of government is, how do we give the non-angels who are needed to run government sufficient power to control the non-angelic masses, without themselves becoming even less angelic (more demonic), tyrannical, oppressive, and megalomaniacal? The answer our Founding Fathers gave was to write a Constitution which clearly defined exactly what the non-angelic federal authorities could do (very little) and put the rest of the power in the hands of the states and local governments, which are closer to the people and (theoretically) more easily controlled by them. It was a noble plan. It failed miserably. Look at Washington, D.C. today if you need proof of that.
4. “Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own federal and republican principles…” Note: not “democratic” principles, which Jefferson didn’t especially believe in, either.
How are we to do what Jefferson proposed? I will give his own answer to that question in my next column in this series.
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