Government Defined

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the founding documents of the United States Government.  The Constitution was written and ratified “in order to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” which the Declaration of Independence declares were “endowed by their Creator”.  It established a “Constitutional Republic” which John Adams defined as “a government of laws and not of men”.  The term “Republic” has many different meanings but often refers to a representative democracy with an elected president.  Representative democracy, sometimes referred to as a “democratic republic”, involves the selection of government officials by the people being represented.  One of the characteristics of representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act in the peoples’ interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgment as to how best to do so. Direct democracy is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally, rather than relying on intermediaries or representatives.

Our constitutional republic is a union of states in which the President and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and must govern according to our constitutional law that limits the government’s power over citizens and states.  By our Constitution, the executive, legislative, and judiciary powers of government are separated into distinct branches and the will of the majority of the population is tempered by protections for individual rights so that no individual or group will have absolute power.  That the Constitution exists to limit the government’s power makes our nation constitutional.

The limits of powers for our government are listed under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and further limited by the 10^th Amendment and provide our principal DEFENSE against an oppressive government.  By electing the President and other officials in the legislative branch rather than inheriting their positions and that their decisions are subject to judicial review makes the nation republican.  Our constitutional republic is intended to establish limited government, individual freedom, personal responsibility and consent of the governed. The foundation of our political system is moral reasoning, not political will.

The branches of our government are the Executive, Legislative and Judicial.  All executive power of the federal government is vested in the President of the United States.  He is the head of state as well as the military commander-in-chief, primary diplomat and leader of his party.  He may sign legislation passed by Congress or may veto it.  The President may make treaties with foreign nations with two thirds consent of the Senate.

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the government. It is bicameral comprised of a House of Representatives and the Senate.  It is responsible for the drafting of legislation which may or may not become law.  The House of Representatives is composed of 435 voting members, each of whom represent a congressional district and is elected for 2 year terms.  The Senate is composed of 100 members, two senators from each state who serve six year terms. The approval of both chambers is required to make any law. The House must introduce bills for the purpose of raising revenue.  The Senate must give “advice and consent” to presidential appointments. The President appoints the entire federal judiciary.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the judicial branch.  It deals with matters pertaining to the federal government, disputes between the states and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.  The Supreme Court can declare legislative or executive action made at any level of the government unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedents for future law and decisions.  Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts which are the general trial courts for federal law.

Our Constitution has guided our country to be the world’s best in less than 200 years. John Adams, one of our founders, wrote “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored, Liberty, once lost, is lost forever”.

The AGAPE Movement believes that the abandonment of constitutional principles means the end of our great country.  “We hold these truths to be self evident” invokes a long tradition of natural law which reason and logic lead to a higher law of right and wrong. Thomas Jefferson said “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny, when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”