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WHAT IS A REPUBLIC?
This Newsletter was written as witness to the departure of the present political drama playing out on the national stage from the principles and practices that are fundamental to a Republic. In the face of a government shutdown and debate about payment of national debt, we see political theater and political posturing among a select few replacing the essential relationship between the government and the governed.
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"A republic is literally a form of government in which affairs of state are a "public matter" (Latin: res publica), not the private concern of the rulers, in which public offices are subsequently appointed or elected rather than privately accommodated, i.e. through inheritance or divine mandate." - Wikipedia - Online Free Encyclopedia.
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America is a Republic and is meant to be a Republic, a nation in which the affairs of government are a 'public matter' rather than a private one, in which the citizens of this country have a major voice in how the body politic is governed.
Contrast this with the political life that we see before us today, where major decisions that affect every citizen of this country are being argued about and made by those in positions of leadership, while the public-at-large becomes more confused about what is true, and more disillusioned about what is possible. Here, political 'theater' has replaced the dialogue between those governed and those governing that is so essential to a democracy.
Political theater, political gamesmanship, the desire to 'one-up' the other 'side' in a divided government that appears to contain two irreconcilable perspectives - these are the things that the citizens of this Republic witness daily at this time. We have come far from the original understanding of how a Republic is meant to operate, and far from the principle and its expression that the citizens of this country shall determine how it is governed.
The present drama which is deeply serious at the same time concerns the confrontation between two 'sides' in a polarized government that cannot find a meeting ground. That this is so is not an accident, and it is not to be taken lightly. It is the outer aspect of an inner disconnect between the 'voice of the people' and those who make policies, and an equally large schism between the 'left' and 'right' within the political spectrum so that a black-and-white choice appears to be needed regarding which 'side' one serves. The intermediary gray zone seems, today, almost non-existent.
What has gotten lost here is the image of the 'common good' and trust in one's fellow man and woman to serve that common good. Instead, we witness a polarization of viewpoints with an accompanying fear that the success of the 'other side' in gaining adherents would seriously threaten oneself, one's values, and the nation as a whole.
This sense of threat associated with divergent viewpoints is dividing our political leaders. It is dividing public opinion. And it is leading to the belief that those who disagree with us cannot be trusted. This is not the Republic of the Founding Fathers. This is not the Republic that gave rise to the Constitution. And it is not the Republic that can effectively govern America today. At the time of the founding of this country, there were many who held divergent points of view concerning secession from British rule, and later, concerning the writing of the Constitution itself. But those who held such views remained one body. They remained one heart. They fought fiercely over words, thoughts, phrases and principles, but they believed that each one had the nation's good at heart and trusted that intention.
We have lost this belief today. We have lost the deep connection with trust that allows this to be the guiding principle which can create unity among those with divergent points of view. May those who presently govern this nation find within themselves the heart that trusts the prnciples of democracy upon which this nation was built and the definition of Republic upon which it continues to stand. May fear give way to trust, and may the voice of the people be not a dim cry in the background, but the loudest voice that shapes the direction of a nation.
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