Political Series Show 1 "What Kind of Government Are We?"

This episode explores the greatness of our nation – not in terms of its technological achievements, but in terms of the principles on which it was founded.

The motives of the Founding Fathers for seeking independence did not merely consist in protesting "taxation without representation." That was only one of dozens of reasons. They were calling for fundamental human rights, for religious freedom, and for a system of government that would not tyrannize people but rather involve them in freely choosing their own destiny.

This concept of self-governance actually flows from the Christian recognition of the dignity of the human person as an individual who can never be absorbed by the state or owe absolute obedience to any other human being.

There are ultimately only two kinds of governments:

1. The type that acknowledges that our rights come from God, and that government exists to secure those rights;
2. The type that says our rights come from Government, which can also deny them.

Our Founders made it clear in the Declaration of Independence that they were establishing the first type. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...that to secure these rights, governments are instituted…"

Government, and hence elected officials, are called first of all to recognize their limits, and the limits to their authority. The state exists for man, not man for the state.

When the state legalizes abortion, it breaks this principle, and departs from the clear foundation on which America was built.

The US Bishops' 1998 document Living the Gospel of Life acknowledges this, and states, "when American political life becomes an experiment on people rather than by and for them, it will no longer be worth conducting."

When does political life become an experiment on people?

1. Abortion is legalized, claiming more human victims than anything else;
2. Euthanasia also begins to be legalized;
3. Tiny new humans are killed at the embryonic stage so their cells can be used for research.

We recently interviewed officials at the Vatican who spoke with us about the role of the state in regard to human rights.

Bishop Karl Romer, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family, stated the following:

"Obviously, there are some evils which the State must adjudicate. Which ones? Those which directly target the common good of the common life of the society. And in such cases, the State must act. For example abortion and euthanasia . . . Here the contemporary vision is perverse -- it is the modern problem of legal positivism -- whatever the majority wants is considered to be 'just'. This is a perversity! It's perverse because tomorrow what the majority dictates will be opposed to the majority of today. Society's job is to seek out unchanging values. Every [political] party must place itself under those fundamental values, and the first among these is the intangible worth of the human person . . . "

"Any law which permits one to act against the untouchable, intangible good of the human person --- such as a law favoring abortion -- is an unjust and perverse law."

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Vice-President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said,

"The destruction of a human being at the very beginning of his or her life, is the destruction of an innocent person. It is the interruption of a life which has as much value as does each one of our lives. This principle illuminates moral judgment. It justifies the position of all -- everyone -- not only that of believers, but of everyone who recognizes the principle of the equality of human beings, the principle of non-discrimination among human beings."

Candidates for public office declare, by their positions on fundamental issues, what kind of government they think we have.

The Church bears witness to human rights, the dignity of the human person, the human person's duties towards God, and therefore the boundaries of government authority. Laws that attempt to authorize acts like abortion are not really laws at all. There are certain laws we may disagree with, because of their adverse effects or failure to achieve their stated goal, and yet we may acknowledge that the state does have the authority to pass the law. But if a law or court decision authorizes a violation of basic human rights, that law or decision lacks all validity.

Our vote determines our relationship to the moral law. It is no exaggeration to say that in the upcoming election, we will decide which type of government America wants to be. That is why Church leaders urge us to be politically involved.

Cathleen Cleaver Ruse, Director of Planning and Information for the Pro-life Secretariat of the US Bishops’ Conference, said in a recent interview with us,

"The document ‘Living the Gospel of Life’ also points out and reminds us it is an obligation as Catholics to be involved in the political process. That's one of the ways that we live the Gospel of Life publicly, which we're called to do. It's not just a matter of private piety you know, to be pro-life in our hearts. We have to be that but also we have to be pro-life publicly. We have to live the Gospel of Life publicly. One of the most fundamental public things that we do is participate in the political life of our country."

Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at the Vatican, said the following:

"I think it has always been important that Catholics be involved in political life because we need individuals who will reflect sound moral principles. Our National motto you might say is one Nation under God. We must as a people, in order to retain the model of greatness of the United States, to defend the basic moral principles. In the Declaration of Independence we say these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness so we acknowledge that the right to life is a fundamental right in our society."

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