"Therefore, in all matters concerning the duties of citizens toward each other he is subordinate. In all matters that concern himself alone he remains the master; he is free and owes an account of his actions to God alone." p. 66
I bring up this quote because I think it captures an inherent tension in our nation that never fails to ignite furious discourse when some new controversy related to the role of the government in the individual's life arises. I don't think that, in general, most of our citizenry holds this notion true, except maybe the most extreme anarchists and totalitarians. The problem is in determining what qualifies as a duty of a citizen and reciprocally what counts as a valid expression of power by the state. And that runs all the way up to today.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteIs there some advantage in knowing what are the perpetual tensions that require repeated attention? Perhaps the very fact that some of these are never settled requires our perennial attention and generates a sort of dynamism. I wonder.
LDL