The Second Principle of Freedom: Virtue, Freedom, and Government

A CAVEAT: Before we begin, let me say I believe in the fallen nature of man, and that man cannot be virtuous without God's work in his life. Of course, our ability to be moral depends on God. Therefore our ability to govern ourselves depends on Him. . . .



Are we in this country moral enough to govern ourselves? It’s a question I alluded to in my very first post—the definition of “government” starts with me. If I can’t govern myself, I can’t govern others. The word “govern” implies rules, and rules imply some sort of standard, some sort of right and wrong. And if there is a right and a wrong, then there must be Someone who gets to make those decisions. That Someone is God.

And the Founders believed that; they also believed we cannot govern effectively if we are not a moral people. The second Principle of Freedom Skousen discusses is basically this: Our country won’t survive if we’re not “virtuous and morally strong.”

Ben Franklin said as much: “only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” (More on that later. How can we let that go?) George Washington said our Constitution would survive only if we are a virtuous people. James Madison wrote that no “government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people.” Richard Henry Lee (he was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence) said that our independence and freedom “depend on [our] virtue].” Samuel Adams wrote that “we shall in reality be the most abject slaves” if we are “universally vicious and debauched in our manners.”

So we need to have a virtuous nation, for a virtuous nation aligns itself with God’s law. How do we stay a people of virtue? Well, the answer to that is in the third Principle of Freedom, which we’ll cover later. First we have to consider Benjamin Franklin’s quote about our need of masters. . . .

For now, as I say to my daughter when we’re finished reading a story before bedtime, “that’s the end of that chapter!”