Celebrating human achievement

By Henry Lamb

col19991209

Some people say it was the discovery of America. Others point to important inventions such as the printing press, the airplane, television or the computer, as the most important achievement of the last millennium. While all these events had profound impact upon society, my vote goes to an achievement that occurred almost by accident - the American system of self governance.

Driven by a determination to be free, ordinary men gathered in Philadelphia a mere two centuries ago, to craft a system of government unlike any the world had ever known. There was no dominating military or political power to set their agenda. There was instead, a common desire, an absolute determination, to create a system of governance that could not arbitrarily deprive individuals of their freedom.

The starting point for these ordinary men, their first principle, was the notion that government derived its power from the consent of the governed. At a time when most of the world still believed kings had some kind of divine right, this was an extraordinary concept. The rest of the world understood that government power was derived from the strength of its army.

The idea that legitimate government power arises from the consent of the governed is the spark of genius that ignited a fire of freedom that forged the greatest nation on earth.

Our founders knew that it would take more than a declaration to create a government whose power would be limited by the consent of those who are governed by it. That's why they separated the legislative function from the executive and judicial functions.

The only way to constrain government, our founders reasoned, was to allow only those representatives elected by the people, to make the laws that limit individual freedom. Should those representatives make laws to which the people did not consent, then those representatives could be held directly accountable at the next regularly scheduled election.

To further protect the freedom of individuals, all the deliberations and debate by the elected representatives had to be public, and eventually decided by a public vote. Moreover, every individual had to be guaranteed the right to speak freely on any and all issues.

The function of the executive was simply to administer the laws enacted by the elected representatives. The founders argued long and hard about the amount of power the executive should have. The position should be strong enough to implement the laws passed by Congress, but not so strong as to manipulate or ignore Congress. They decided to subject the executive to removal by the electorate at regularly scheduled elections, and to allow Congress the ability to override the executive's veto. While not perfect, the system promised a balance of power not heretofore known in the world.

The judicial system was designed to be as independent as possible by letting the executive appoint judges, but subjecting the appointments to the approval of the elected Senate. What a concept!

Nowhere in the design of the new government, was efficiency or speed or even the expense of operations, a factor in the decisions. The first principle of limiting government power by the consent of the governed was always the first consideration.

To be absolutely sure that the new creature being created did not get out of hand, the founders enumerated precisely the powers the federal government could exercise. All other powers were specifically retained by the states, or by the people.

As a final safeguard for the individual rights of the people, the founders agreed to attach a "Bill of Rights" that set forth the individual freedoms that could not be infringed by the new government. The right to speak and assemble freely; the right to acquire, use and defend private property; the right to fair compensation when property is taken by the new government; the right to privacy; the right to due process - all rights the founders recognized to be granted, not by government, but by their Creator. The first purpose of the new government was to protect those rights and to guarantee the freedom of those who are governed.

Once free, individual Americans set out to provide for themselves and their families. They were free to enter into agreements with one another. They had incentive to produce goods and services that others would buy. As one person succeeded with an idea, others latched onto the idea to provide the same or a better product or service at a better price. Competition in a free market place stimulated new ideas that transformed the way people lived.

That handful of men who gathered in Philadelphia had no idea whether or not their new government would succeed. They knew there would be problems. They knew there would be a natural propensity for the government to gather power unto itself. They hoped that the people would keep that power in check at the ballot box.

The government did succeed. It freed people to achieve whatever they wanted to achieve, and allowed free people in a free market to vote with their dollars on the products and services they wanted. Consequently, America achieved in 200 years what no other nation had achieved in the history of the world.

The principles of self governance set forth by those ordinary men gathered in Philadelphia are as valid today as they were then. Those principles are equally valid for people who live in China, Russia, or any other place in the world. It may take another century, or another millennium for the rest of the world to realize that America's success is the result of individual freedom, not the result of government power and control. In fact, we now can see that individual prosperity and success as a nation is directly tied to the balance of individual freedom and government power.

The more power government has to limit individual freedom, the less prosperous are its people. Conversely, the less power government has to limit individual freedom, the more creative, energetic, and prosperous are the people. The creation of a system of self governance that allows people to exercise their inherent freedom to realize their maximum potential is an achievement that must stand head and shoulders above all others. It is the achievement that will ultimately result in peaceful world, where all people can realize their maximum potential.

Of course, global peace and prosperity is not an automatic result of our founders' achievement. They simply established the principles and created the example. Two centuries of success have demonstrated the validity of the principles of freedom. But there are those, especially those who wield governmental power, who hate the idea that government power should be limited by any authority. The notion that government should be limited by the consent of the governed is absolute anathema to most government institutions.

Even after two centuries of success, even the American government is in danger of losing sight of the first principle upon which it was founded. The only power on earth sufficient to keep government in check is the people who are governed. Our founders gave the people the process to keep their government under control, the ballot box. If it is not used, or not used wisely by the people, government can, and will lose sight of its purpose and first principle.

It is staggering to realize that the most important achievement of the millennium could be lost in the next century because the very people for whom the American system of self governance was designed, failed to exercise the freedom it provided.