Although it will take some radical solutions to get our Federal Government back on track and reconnected again to its constitutional moorings, we have an amazingly strong and resilient foundation to work with. We must never think it is not possible. If the U.S. Navy CB’s have the motto: “The difficult we do immediately, but the impossible may take a little longer,” how much more should we, who serve a God for whom nothing is impossible, believe this?
Judicial tyranny may presently be the greatest threat to the Republic, but no republic can survive without a strong, independent judiciary devoted to justice. Even though we may have suffered much from wayward judges and courts, most have not gone awry, have stayed within their lane and doing a great service to the country.
One of the first ways that the Founders saw as an inroad for the corruption of the judiciary was for judges, including Supreme Court justices, to have lifetime appointments. They believed that no government official should ever be exempt from accountability, and nothing likely can shield one from accountability like a lifetime appointment.
When this wisdom was disregarded and lifetime appointments for certain seats were given, they were intended to enable judges to rise above political pressure to stay focused on justice. Lifetime appointments may have seemed like a good remedy for this, but it did not work. Now our judicial system is as politicized as the rest of the government.
Every major departure like this from The Constitution has only created worse problems than the ones they were devised to fix. That being said, it seems reasonable that judges and justices should have long enough terms to at least allay some of the pressures of politics that can pervert justice. It could be helpful to have the renewal of their terms close to automatic, but there needs to be some ongoing evaluation and accountability for their performance and compliance with the law and The Constitution. Those who would protest the most at having their lifetime appointment removed should probably be the first to be removed. To be a judge is a high calling, and we obviously want those who are above reproach in the courts.
Our Founders feared the tyranny of the mob as much as they feared the tyranny of a king. The same crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem declaring “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” were crying “Crucify Him!” just five days later. The Founders were devoted to establishing a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but also one that could ride out the wild swings of public opinion. These swings can create a social turbulence that tears a nation apart.
Democracies are where the majority rules. Republics are where the people vote for representatives that rule on their behalf. The representatives ideally will not just try to please public opinion, which can so wildly swing from one extreme to the opposite extreme, but rather do what is best for the whole country. This is why our Founders formed a constitutional republic, not a democracy as many wrongly presume.
As John Adams noted, no democracy had survived more than a short time before committing suicide. As he also wrote, “A democracy is like two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.” Under pure democracies, the rights of minorities tend to get ignored or trampled upon. To ultimately be a nation of “justice for all,” the Founders knew we had to be a constitutional republic where The Constitution was “the supreme law of the land.”
All three branches of government have been prone to infringe on the authority given to the other branches, as well as the authority given to the states and the people. The military calls this “mission creep”—when a commander starts adding to their specific assignment. When this happens, very often the original assignment gets muddled and sometimes forgotten. This has happened in our Federal Government. It has taken on many purposes that are beyond its constitutional authority.
To remedy this, we must recover the fact that The Constitution was written to assign specific authority to the Federal Government and forever limit it to what was specifically given to it in order to preserve the authority of the states and the people. Therefore, the assignment of any purpose to the Federal Government not specifically named in The Constitution is a violation of The Constitution. A main purpose of The Constitution was to limit the authority of the Federal Government in order to keep it from becoming what it has now become.
To bring the needed correction to restore the constitutional boundaries of the Federal Government, it would be much better for the three branches of it to be self-correcting. This would require champions of The Constitution to arise in each one to get our government back on the rails. This is still possible. Yet, with every day that passes without the self-correction, the likelihood of it becomes more remote. Therefore, the likely source of change will be from the states and the people.
I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power. –Thomas Jefferson
The Founding Fathers were concerned with the moral principles of the American people more than any other attribute. They were confident their countrymen would always be brave and industrious, but they feared a future decline in their moral character. This fear probably arose from what was known about previous democratic governments. The democracies of the ancient world had fallen apart due largely to a decline in the virtue of their citizens, the people’s loss of interest in their voice in governmental decisions, or a lust for power by their leaders. The Founding Fathers believed that if the American people would remain honest, be attentive to their responsibilities as citizens, eschew personal fame and power, and love God, then America would remain a strong force for freedom and hope in the world. —Gordon Leidner
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© 2020 by Rick Joyner. All rights reserved.
