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Part Four - Family and Society
Chapter 21 - Leadership and Government
4) Government for the People
3. Democracy
World Scripture
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. U.S. Declaration of Independence
I know no safe depository of the ultimate a powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. Thomas Jefferson
The ruler who submits to democratic ideals, His rule is lasting. Adi Granth, Maru, M.1 (Sikhism)
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—and it was not there, in her fertile fields and trackless forests—and it was not there, in her rich mines and vast world commerce—and it was not there, in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him. Booker T. Washington
The king’s country, Sire, is harassed and harried. There are dacoits abroad who pillage the villages and townships and who make the roads unsafe. Were the king, so long as that is so, to levy a fresh tax, verily his majesty would be acting wrongly. Perchance his majesty might think, “I’ll soon put a stop to these scoundrels’ game by punishments and banishment, fines and bonds and death!” But their license cannot be satisfactorily put a stop to by such a course. The remnant left unpunished would still go on harassing the realm.
Now there is one method to adopt to put a thorough end to this disorder. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to keeping cattle and the farm, to them let his majesty give food and seed corn. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to trade, to them let his majesty give capital. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to government service, to them let his majesty give wages and food. Then those men, following each his own business, will no longer harass the realm; the king’s revenue will go up; the country will be quiet and at peace; and the populace, pleased with one another and happy, dancing their children in their arms, will dwell with open doors. Digha Nikaya 1.135: Kutadanta Sutta (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
In these last days of human history, heavenly law has descended upon the earth in the name of democracy, bringing an end to the long phase of history in which people sought to obtain happiness by seizing property, land and people. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 2.3)
At the time of Jesus, people’s lives were as insignificant as flies to the persons in power. The system of laws into which Jesus was born was just like a world without laws. If the administrators or persons of power wanted to have him killed, it could be done as easily as killing a fly. Jesus’ proclamation of a fundamental human revolution could not be permitted or accepted under the system of that society. We can say that the fact that Jesus was nailed to the cross was an almost unavoidable occurrence under the system of those days. God, who knows this so well, knows that one of the most necessary things for the days of the second advent of the Messiah is a system of laws in which a person cannot be killed just because it is someone else’s will. The system which God prepared for the last two thousand years is democracy.
Democracy is the system which respects human rights. Democracy is the system in which a minority group can survive in the midst of a majority group. Democracy is the system which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly. If we consider the Constitution of America, which can be regarded as the representative nation of democracy, the most absolute freedom among all freedoms is the freedom of religion. It is stated in the Constitution that the American Congress and Government shall not make any laws which can restrict religions. (October 19, 1978)
The French Revolution established democracy with the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Nonetheless, the democracy born out of the French Revolution was a Cain-type democracy. Although it destroyed absolutism… the leading thinkers behind the French Revolution were Enlightenment figures such as Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean Le Rond D’Alembert (1717-1783), who adhered to atheism or materialism. Furthermore, despite its ideals of individual freedom and equality, the actual course of French democracy in the years of the revolution and afterward tended toward totalitarianism….
From their very origins, the democracies which emerged in England and the United States were different from the democracy born out of the French Revolution… The English and American democracies were founded by sincere Christians, the fruits of the Abel-type view of life, and were born out of their victorious fight with absolutism to win religious freedom. Hence, these are Abeltype democracies. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Preparation 3.1)
Democracy is the ideology of brotherhood. It promotes equality by upholding freedom. But is freedom alone enough to secure happiness? No. To secure happiness, love must be the highest value. (201:73, March 1, 1990)
If democracy were to use love as its basis, then the world would become one. That kind of democracy could become world-level democracy. Even communism, if it were centered on true love, could also make one world. Where there is love, the word “purge” cannot exist. (90:311-12, January 15, 1977)
While much in America seems attractive, if you dig deeper you will find some disagreeable aspects. There is always a taint of racism. People live as isolated individuals and have not become as one community. The law is not always in agreement with human rights. (90:304, January 15, 1977)
If a black person wanted to run for the presidency, would white Americans support him? What do you think? Would they elect a capable black candidate? …As long as blacks and whites are fighting over their rights, are there truly human rights?
The democratic world is a world of individualism. It takes no account of relationships, such as husband and wife. Each individual is his or her own center. Yet in reality, people cannot exist without relationships. Everything exists in the context of relationships. A society that valued relationships above all else would encourage everyone to make relationships with their counterparts, for that is the very nucleus from which the world will become one. First, families become one; then they build relationships with their neighbors and unify their neighborhood. Based upon this principle, people would assemble themselves into a single structure, connecting everyone throughout the world. (228:8, March 1, 1992)
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