The form of government expressed through is prevailing philosophy will to a large extent determine the public posture toward specific issues, such as universal healthcare.
Here are three examples of government followed by a statement of the relationship between the government and the citizen within the confines of its philosophy:
Socialism*: We will look out for you.
Liberty: Look out for yourself.
Solidarity: We look out for one another.
A philosophy is a worldview. The prevalent philosophy, or worldview, of the United States is Liberty. Since the American Revolution of 1776, the countries of the world have increasingly sought the emancipation of Liberty. The latest wave of democratic freedom is sweeping across Muslim North Africa and the Middle East. Historians are eager to know the nature of the freedoms adopted by these new governments.
This anticipation is not limited to Muslim nations only. Israel, although a long-time democracy, is considering its own codified form of government. Danny Ayalon, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister and an Israel Beiteinu Member of Knesset, proposes a formal Constitution:
We need to establish a constitution that will uphold the spirit of our Declaration of Independence and replace the current quasi-constitutional Basic Laws as set by the judiciary. The constitution will define the nature of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic state, will state the core values of our state, affirming its responsibilities toward its citizens and the responsibility of its citizens towards the state. The constitution will be written after deliberations and will be a unifying and not a divisive document.**
Constitutions are a social contract delimiting the powers of government and the rights of citizens. The obligations of citizens are modified by their personal character, which is predominately the domain of family, school, and place of worship.
The best government is the least restrictive, thus surrendering the role of conscience to the individual, the family, school, and place of worship.
PROGRESSIVE GOVERNMENT AND 'DOCTRINE OF INCLUSION'
The American example proves we are stronger together than we are divided. The systems of the future must be adapted to the strengths forged from the hard lessons of history.
Under a "Doctrine of Universal Inclusion', nations are friends until proven otherwise. Friends disagree, but they do not fight. Friends talk over a friendship meal. They sit down together and counsel over their daily affairs. They talk about family, other friends, careers and money, education, aspirations, and religion.
END OF SLAVE NATIONHOOD
Jesus promised His Disciples, You are my friends and not my slaves ***(John 15:14, 15). His was an expression of Solidarity.
Solidarity is the New World Order, a new way of thinking and structuring personal and social relations.
A complete system of Solidarity is political, economic, and religious.
Solidarity is the common good.
RELIGIOUS SOLIDARITY
Solidarity is the common good stemming from the foundation of religion. We learn our first lessons while sitting at the feet of our mother and our religious instructors.
Because women are our first teachers their virtue is fundamental to the welfare of society. We afford place, protection, and peace to mother and motherhood.
We are told to honor our mother so our days may be long in the Land, with neither conflict nor rejoinder. We recognize in Judaism the Mother Faith. Christianity and Islam are her daughters.
Under the terms of Solidarity the faiths of monotheism may coexist in theological harmony. Religion is progressive; we view the monotheistic faiths as complementary rather than competitive.
A Harmony of the monotheistic faiths is known as Solidarity Theology.
All spiritual inquiry is rooted in three universal questions:
1. From whence did we come?
2. Who are we: i.e., what is our collective purpose?
3. To what is our destiny?
From the premise of these questions, we declare:
1. We were created soul and body by one God.
2. We derive our dignity from God as co-equal sons and daughters of God, who calls us to a life of community and mutual service. This world is the training ground for the eternal soul.
3. We are destined for an eternal afterlife with God.
Solidarity is an extra-secular religio-political system wherein religion and government act in harmony. Solidarity is pluralistic and tolerant of private and non-public displays of religious views. Competitive proselytizing is discouraged.
Solidarity recognizes the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament), Christian New Testament, and the Islamic Koran as its inspired authorities. Solidarity employs public education to promote a mandatory non-sectarian exposure to and proficiency in all three religious texts.
POLITICAL SOLIDARITY
Religion is our Mother; she nurtures our political and economic institutions. Solidarity is her name; she is the common good who determines our political system. Government is derived from religion.
Solidarity favors a form of government sympathetic to the primacy of religion as the source of morals and adapted to the exigencies of our times. Federated nations must be responsive to the needs of its member states for representation, self-determination, and the other basic human rights common to democratic republics.
The American Founding Fathers recognized the necessity of forming an altogether new system of government blending the best in a pure democracy, their historical heritage from the Greeks; and, a pure republic, their historical heritage from the Romans. The United States enjoys a democratic-republican system of government.
The American Founding Fathers saw an element of merit in the democratic ideal of citizenship and personal responsibility toward the body politic. Likewise, they recognized the practicality of surrogate representation entrusted to elected officials chosen through a regular schedule of voting.
Democracy emphasizes power in the people, visualized as power flowing from the bottom upward; whereas, a Republic recognizes power in leadership, either elected or divinely ordained. This latter power flows from the top down to the people.
There are elements of truth and practicality in both positions in that they reflect typical aspects of psychology and human behavior. Power sharing is vital because of our social interdependence; but, the degree of power exercised by any one sector over another must be minimized through checks and balances in order to preserve maximum liberty.
The American bicameral approach to power sharing has worked well because the people have Democracy through a House of Representatives; and the Republic has its voice through the Senate. Both the House and the Senate must agree before a piece of legislation becomes law. Their coordination is a check and balance of power.
Divided societies in North Africa and the Middle East may find inspiration in the American example of bicameral power sharing. However, the demand of progressive government mandates that Solidarity improve upon Liberty.
Political Solidarity may benefit from a tricameral government that includes the role of an independent judiciary in the legislative process before a bill is passed into finalized legislation. The essential constitutionality of a law would no longer become a matter of incessant challenge.
A political Congress must neither debate nor settle matters of religious faith.
PRIESTHOOD JUDICIARY
Solidarity recognizes an independent judiciary. The judicial branch of government is exercised by a quasi-priesthood entrusted with the responsibility of weighing the ethical and moral relevance of legislation.
ECONOMIC SOLIDARITY
Solidarity is the common good stemming from the harmony of our theological, political, and economic systems. Fundamental to the common good is the ending of all forms of slavery.
Perpetual debt is a form of enslavement. We observe an economic order that refuses perpetual personal, corporate, and national debt.
PROGRESSIVE SPIRIT
The goal of Solidarity is the liberty of the human spirit to maximize its potential in personal and social development.
CONCLUSION
We are witnessing in modern history the advance of the human spirit. Solidarity seeks to implement a New World Order that secures our political, economic, and religious systems.
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* Socialism is the paternalistic heritage of Rome, partly strong and partly divided.
** "Preventing the political system's stagnation, collapse",
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=259503
*** Literally "bondman", a man bound to service without wages.
