Heart and Hearthstone

The public today views government as the cure-all for individual and societal ills, largely attributed to the progressive treatment plan prescribed for the nation in the last century. Progressive politicians tout new deals via wealth redistribution, favored social status, and an arbitrary standard of “social” justice, promising constituents their fair share of the material spoils of fellow citizens as the means of achieving a great society and by consequence, individual happiness. These ancient remedies – snake oils, really – have proven ineffective over time, often creating adverse and lasting side effects. They tamper with human nature, prey upon the human passions of greed and envy, and create dependency, while also misleading the public’s expectations. Albeit sometimes alleviating or reducing the symptoms, the antidotes routinely violate the cardinal rule of good medicine and good government:  “Do No Harm.”

The award-winning actor and comedian, Robin Williams, undoubtedly enjoyed notoriety and A-list billing, possessed considerable wealth securing him a spot in the maligned but coveted “one percent”, and was the recipient of countless material benefits that would make a snake oil salesman drool. That these ultimately proved insufficient in securing Williams’ happiness should give one pause, and alarm, with the realization that it escaped the very man for whom happiness was the subject matter of his life’s work. This suggests true happiness lies somewhere other than with the accumulation of transient and tangible things. Furthermore, politicians on both sides of the aisle subscribing to progressive medicine ought to come with a warning label:  Hazardous to Human Happiness, Use At Your Own Risk! If not guilty of political wrongdoing, they are certainly culpable of constitutional malpractice. Characterized by the tendency to over prescribe government, their practices violate the American standard of citizen care embraced by the American founders.

The Founders sited a higher aim than the mere treatment of recurring symptoms for their fellow citizens. It was a way of living in communion with the highest goods of human life – hence, “the good life” – the ultimate end being personal happiness. This liberty lifestyle – the original American lifestyle – had implications for citizens and government alike. The first right of every citizen expressly stated in the Declaration of Independence is the right to life, evidence all lives matter equally. But how one lives also matters, the Founders believing it the best indication of overall health and well being. Because happiness is achieved by living well – an individual activity – only the pursuit and not the outcome can be guaranteed. In Aristotle’s Ethics, the original self-help book written circa 350 B.C., the Greek philosopher explores the best life for man, complete with time-honored tools and tips for living well. Recognition and reverence for the highest or ultimate things as the things that come first (first principles) is critical, as is actively seeking them as a lifelong pursuit. A steady diet of virtue over vice coupled with exercising a frequent recurrence to first principles, significantly increases the likelihood of living a fully human and happy life.

While Aristotle defined happiness as “an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue” and thus a personal pursuit, he concluded that to achieve and preserve it for a whole people or society was “something more beautiful and more divine.” The pursuit of happiness, an inalienable right tantamount to life and liberty, is the lofty and worthy ideal of the American Republic. Laying its foundation on the universal and abiding principles located in nature and discovered by reason, the Founders’ formula for government is an all-natural regime based on the Natural Standard, stated as “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” in the Declaration. It prescribes “republican remedies for republican diseases” noted the Constitution’s author James Madison, in an effort to “inoculate the republic they created from the diseases present when the people rule,” according to Hillsdale professor Terrence Moore. By shaping citizen behavior and character, constitutional government draws on “the better angels” of the people’s nature so that both the individual and common good are served. The Constitution prescribes the optimal arrangement of political power to achieve a government of, by, and for the people. It is, simply, the proper dose of government for human happiness. Use as directed. Throw in good dental hygiene in the form of the Second Amendment, which Washington dubbed “Liberty’s teeth”, and the formula is an original and practical regime, the benefits of which include but are not limited to:  heart and soul health, ‘life-ennobling,’ and meets the requirements for the ultimate end of human life, that is, happiness.

Three thousand years of scientific inquiry, empirical evidence, and human trials comprise the timeless design of America. General Washington expressed these sentiments in his final letter to the then thirteen colonies upon resigning his military commission of the Continental Army in 1783:

The Citizens of America, placed in the most enviable condition . . . to be possessed of absolute freedom and Independency; . . . Heaven has crowned all its other blessings, by giving a fairer opportunity for political happiness, than any other Nation has ever been favored with . . .The foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy age of Ignorance and Superstition, but at an Epocha when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period; the researches of the human mind, after social happiness, have been carried to a great extent, the Treasures of knowledge, acquired by the labors of Philosophers, Sages, and Legislatures, through a long succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected wisdom may be happily applied in the Establishment of our forms of Government; . . . At this auspicious period, The United States came into existence as a Nation, and if their Citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own.

Exiting Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 a woman asked Benjamin Franklin:  “Well, Doctor, what have we got – a Republic or a Monarchy?” to which he retorted:  “A Republic, if you can keep it.” WARNING:  Do not let the simplicity of Dr. Franklin’s response escape your attention. “The good and the doing it well seem to be in the work” counsels Aristotle. Let’s do the work to keep it – our happiness depends on it.

Happy Constitution Week!