Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. –Reinhold Niebuhr, 1944
We are, as I recall, a ‘Democracy’ and not a ‘Theocracy.’ Our Founding Fathers were quite clear about this. They sought to protect all religions – hence the United States would not profess one religion over another. This also means that ‘preachers of the word’ for_______(fill in the blank with a religion’s name) would not, when they ‘spoke from the pulpit’ (that is, when they spoke as a representative of God), cross the line between the separation of church and state (that is, tell their ‘flocks’ how to vote or even state their own political preference or speak for or against a particular candidate or party).
It is crucial for us to note that our current president says that he will seek to abolish the guideline/rule (the Johnson Amendment) that prohibits religious leaders from crossing the boundary between church and state. His rationale is that the ‘freedom of religion’ (which is current political speak for ‘Fundamental Christian’) is under attack in our country. Some folks are doing so. On the other hand, some folks are also attacking Jews, Muslims, and certain Christian denominations (being attacked for their religious beliefs is also not new for these faith traditions). Lifting the ban that prohibits religious leaders from using their bully pulpits to spread a different kind of word – a political not religious or spiritual word – would our Founding Fathers believed inflict a wound on democracy; if carried to its logical conclusion this wound would be fatal to democracy.
Speaking of wounding democracy. The president and, sadly, many others are questioning if not directly ‘attacking’ the ‘Fourth Estate’ – commonly called ‘The Press’ or ‘The Media.’ Our Founding Fathers were also quite clear about the need for a ‘Fourth Estate.’ Part of the charge of a ‘free press’ is to offer a check and balance to the first three estates (our three branches of government). Because the folks who make up a free press are, like all of us human beings, imperfect what the free press publishes will be imperfect. Sadly, the dark side of technology is adding to the negative side of a press that is free – the rise of ‘fake news’ is a sign of this.
As a Democracy we need both a clear separation of church and state and we need the check and balances of a free Fourth Estate. As always, the real culprit (if there is a ‘real culprit’) is easy to identify: ‘’WE THE PEOPLE!’
‘WE THE PEOPLE!’ are responsible, unconditionally response-able, and accountable. Because WE THE PEOPLE choose to live in a Democracy, WE THE PEOPLE must be vocal in our support of a separation of church and state and we must be vocal in our support of a free Fourth Estate. We must also help ensure that our free press will act as a check and balance to those we elect to serve us (historically, those elected do not ‘police’ themselves very well unless they are pushed and prodded by the Fourth Estate).
Theocracies do not serve all equally. Governments that suppress a free Fourth Estate become dictatorships. History has confirmed this. The question, of course, is: Do WE THE PEOPLE believe history?
The secret of life is in the shadows and not in the open sun; to see anything at all, you must look deeply into the shadow of a living thing. –Ute Saying
