When, amidst the rumble of cynicism and mounting disapproval of government, men and women of stature and integrity abandon public office in record numbers, the moral center for public policy formation erodes, statesmanship withers away, and the ship of state gets taken over by the inexperienced and the second-rate. If America is to press forward with our noble vision of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, some clear understandings are needed. Government is of God. Government authority is derived from God's authority. Government is God's way, in this kind of world, for humanity to live together in ssome semblance of order, justice, and peace instead of chaos, oppression, and war.
Government is necessary.
There are some things that only government can do. Among these are such things as public safety, public education, criminal justice, and military defense. That insight is equally valid for state and local governments within their different spheres. Government is capable of doing good and important work. Government has a unique capacity to establish justice, do the things that make for peace, improve the lives of the people, and serve the common good.