A Republic, if you can keep it: The Declaration of Independence is the test

By Jay Davidson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

All great endeavors start with an idea, a principle upon which the philosophy is built. Our nation’s founders did the same. The foundational philosophy was different from other nations. Our Declaration noted clearly that the citizen rules and has powers and rights. They conceived a Republic, rule by the citizen. And for 200 years our nation of individuals thrived.

The Declaration of Independence laid the foundation for our nation. It is the philosophical bedrock upon which our nation is built. It stated clearly that “all men are created equal.” And therefore, no entity is above the citizen, especially no government, politician or bureaucrat.

The Declaration did not state that all men are entitled to equality of outcome (“affordability” in the common parlance). Instead, the Declaration clearly noted that we are created equal and bestowed with certain rights. This difference is both subtle and profound.

In the first instance, equality of outcome, it is acceptable for one group to use government (in the form of taxes and laws) to usurp earnings from another group. The “billionaire tax” is one example where the majority imposes its will on a minority. Tariffs are an example by the other party. Both are taxes, both take from a citizen. Both are illegitimate.

The Declaration, in noting all men are equal, would not tolerate this usurpation of earnings from one group. The Principle of the Declaration forbids the majority from imposing its will on the individual through force. Yet politicians on both sides think nothing of imposing their will on the citizen through regulations, laws, fines and taxation.

Those who want equality of outcome use our own government as a wealth transfer agent to take from one group and give to another. They have many names, but the common denominator is ever-more powerful central control through our government. Their ideas manifest more laws, more regulation and higher taxes and fines.

There is little differentiation between a big-government Republican and a big-government Democrat. Their end point is the same: more government control over the citizen, inevitably leading to socialism and communism. In other words, control by government and loss of individual rights.

We would be better served if we differentiated based on Principle rather than party. When both parties have lost their way, it is up to the citizen to realign them. “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

The Declaration goes on to enumerate the rights that accrue from our Creator directly to each person. These rights are bestowed upon each citizen. They are neither given nor taken by any government. Therefore, the only objective given our government is to protect those individual rights and to restrain any group from imposing its will on each citizen through government.

When we go to bedrock and contemplate the foundation, we see that few politicians live by the fundamental principle upon which our nation was forged. The party of my youth understood those principles. Today’s defeated party lost sight of them decades ago.

The other party has always preferred control by the majority as if democracy is the goal. Democracy is only a means by which, every two, four or six years, we citizens decide a political race. Democracy, when taken to an extreme, devolves into rule by the majority over the minority. Our nation is a Constitutional Republic. It is rule by the citizen, with a government constrained by our Constitution.

Today the Democrats rejoice. Tomorrow, the Republicans. But nothing changes. The government continues to take more from us, redistribute our wealth, impose its will through regulation, put us into crushing debt.

The big-government types take what we have earned, give it away to those who have not earned it, and destroy individual freedom through slow tyranny of control.

There are centrists in both parties that hear this call, as do Independents. Every action should be based on the foundational principle that started this nation. Does my action improve individual freedom or hinder it?

The call is to return to bedrock, renew awareness of our nation’s foundation, the Declaration of Independence. Realize that government serves the people, not the other way around.

In order to live by a Principle, we must first understand the Principle. If we go back to the Declaration, we find that Principle to be the inalienable rights bestowed on each individual citizen. Anything that detracts from this Principle is wrong. The more government controls, the less freedom citizens have. Politicians should think about this before ever passing a new law or enacting another tax.

The meaning of a Republic is rule by the citizen. The Constitution was created so that government did not tyrannize its citizens but served only to preserve their individual rights. And this explains why that government must be controlled by the Constitution.

We don’t need to form another party. We need to get to bedrock Principles and let those Principles guide our thinking. In spite of our differences, we share a concept, that of mutual respect for our individual rights.

If we want to continue our Republic, then each citizen must engage in his own government, if only to control its voracious appetite. Americans are independent by nature. We have more in common than our differences suggest.

Jay Davidson is founder and CEO of a commercial bank, a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a dedicated capitalist. There is a direct connection between individual right and responsibility, our Constitution, capitalism and the intent of our Creator.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.