Government of the People

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed" — The Declaration of Independence

Rhetorical concepts, especially those having great symbolic importance, often have multiple meanings. Such is the case with 'innocence,' which in these days of high-profile terrorism and war has no small consequence.

A committment to the rule of law is admirable. But our actions can be judged in realms other than the legal: to take only the most obvious, there is the political. Whatever overlap may exist between the legal and political realms is not my concern here; what is, instead, is their difference.

It is clear that people across the political spectrum acknowledge the difference. Anti-abortion activists do their work from a conviction that abortion is a moral wrong that should be enshrined as a legal wrong. Politicians who do not support their efforts are guilty of a political wrong, and much activity is expended in holding politicians accountable for their decisions: that is, ensuring that elected representatives actually do represent the will of their constituents.

There is in this a tacit acknowledgement of a fundamental principle of republican governance: political authority rests with the electorate, not with the government. The government merely has legal authority, and it is incumbent upon the electorate to enforce the appropriate exercise of that authority by its representatives. This is what Wendell Phillips meant when he said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Hence periodic elections.

Thus, if abortion is a moral wrong, and the elected representatives do not do their utmost to eradicate it, the electorate must seat representatives who will — for to do otherwise is tacit acceptance of the inadequate policy. In a republican government in which the electorate holds final political authority, in which the government is supposed to act on behalf of the electorate, such tacit acceptance is indistinguishable from passive consent. And with consent comes political responsibility.

We each bear political responsibility for the abuses done by our government to our compatriots and the rest of our fellow humans, whether we know of them or not — for it is our responsibility even to ensure that we have the information we need (state secrecy as abuse of power). With final authority comes final responsibility. If we will not control our government (assuming that we still can), we must accept the consequences.

So while as individuals we may each claim legal innocence of the wrongs done in our name, we have no such claim to political innocence. The only political innocents are the disenfranchised. The tragedy of 11 September 2001 is not that three thousand innocents were killed; it is that the few paid disproportionately for the guilt of the many.