FOUR PILLARS OF REPUBLICANISM

Christopher A. Hollrah

Description

This book is an exploration of four of the principles that serve as the cornerstones of modern liberal republicanism. The modern republic that functions on the democratic process owes its origins to the political philosophers and activists of the Age of Enlightenment and Reason. To them we owe a debt we can never repay, but the very idea of a liberal republic is constantly under attack from the varied forces of totalitarianism on a global scale. If we are to keep the freedoms, rights, and liberties we now enjoy, and if this American republic is to not only survive, but thrive beyond the foreseeable future, we must see the constant attacks which our form of government bears, and combat them as a single society.

Sujets

• Political Science
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 30 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798823010474
• Langue: English

Extrait

FOUR PILLARS OF REPUBLICANISM
ESSAYS ON THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF OUR REPUBLIC AND ITS PRESERVATION
 
 
 
CHRISTOPHER A. HOLLRAH
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


AuthorHouse™
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© 2023 Christopher A. Hollrah. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 06/29/2023
 
ISBN: 979-8-8230-1039-9 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-1047-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023911297
 
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction
 
Freedom of Conscience
Secularism
Presumption of Innocence before the Law
The Rule of Law
 
Postscript
DEDICATION
This book has several dedications
First, it is dedicated to every person, anywhere, in the past, present, or future who has, is, or will struggle and fight to defend the system of open and democratic republics everywhere. Millions of people have laid down their lives to help preserve and propel this form of government that functions on the democratic process, and to all of you, we owe a debt of gratitude that we can never repay. At this writing, the courageous people of Ukraine deserve our support in any manner possible. They, more than almost any other nation on this planet, are on the front lines of humanity’s fight against dictatorship.
Second, it is dedicated to the forces of dictatorship, fascism, racism, white supremacy, and general hatred in the world. Know now that the good and earnest people of this world, and in the United States in particular, will never allow you to succeed. Your continuing and fruitless efforts to destroy this and all other republics that function on an open democratic process, helped create the need for this book.
Third, it is dedicated to my father, who lived a life of intellectual vibrance, but who, in his later years, drifted into conservative extremism, which was warped and fed by his addiction to fox news (lower case intentional), which then took him, so easily it seemed, into the clutches of trumpism. This tragedy also created the need for this book.
Fourth, to all of those who have family and friends we love or have loved, but who have watched these people lose their way under the never-ending stream of right-wing media propaganda, do not despair. Remember, that fear is easy, but courage, which seems so difficult at times, is the one gift given to us against which the forces of darkness in this worlds have no defense. Have courage and remember these words: “All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.” Small acts by many people will ensure that the forces of freedom will win.
Oh, yeah, and Jeff.
INTRODUCTION
This book contains four essays on what I feel are some of the most important philosophical principles which serve as foundations of the form of government that we, as Americans, along with billions of other people on this planet are privileged to enjoy: republicanism. It is important to specify that I am not just speaking about any nation-state that has the word republic in its official title. This is not a delineator of republicanism.
Examples such as the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or the Islamic Republic of Iran will alert any reader to the fact that incorporating the word republic into the name of your state means nothing. In fact, if you look around the world, I think you will find it is common practice for dictatorships of all kinds—religious, civil, or military—to use the word republic in their official state name.
When I use the terms republic or republicanism , I am speaking of a republic that functions on the democratic process, in which elections are open and transparent, in which participation—either as a candidate for office or merely a voter—is free to all citizens, and in which the process and results are fairly contested. This is where the difference lies between a dictatorship that abuses the term republic and a true republic that honors it.
The essays that appear in this manuscript are, in order of appearance: Freedom of conscience, secularism, presumption of innocence before the law, and the rule of law. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of those principles, developed and refined during the Age of Enlightenment and Reason which served as the building blocks that gave rise to republicanism. However, they are, in my opinion, four of the most important principles that enabled the republican form of government to make the all-important transition from a theoretical proposition to a practical application when it was adopted at the birth of the United States of America in its Constitution.
In brief, each of the essays explores the following topics: Freedom of Conscience looks at how the individual must always be free to think and believe whatever he or she wants. But this freedom of thought and belief does not and cannot translate to freedom of action. “Secularism” explores the essential need for a complete and total separation of the church and the state. Presumption of Innocence Before the Law explores how this principle relates to contemporary American society, and how our accepted social practices, especially in policing, completely violate this foundational principle. Lastly, The Rule of Law” delves into this all-important principle, both as a broad principle as it relates to how a society evolves, and its timely application as we see the mounting evidence of a former president under investigations for multiple felonious breaches of the law.
Over time, the concept of republicanism has evolved and spread throughout the world. In this process, it has taken on differing forms adapted to the history and cultural landscape of the nations that have adopted it. However, republicanism has found its deepest roots and greatest expression in what is known as the European West and the United States, a political and cultural area commonly referred to as the West. It was the political philosophers of this massive geographical region that laid the foundations of what we now know as “modern liberal republicanism.”
However, we must remember that for all of its benefits regarding the liberation of the rights and responsibilities of the individual, republicanism is not without a dark side, and it is in no way immune to the drives of imperialism and colonialism, and it has, in no manner, served to mitigate the greed of both individuals and organizations. One of the worst expressions of the dark side of modern liberal republicanism, especially in US foreign policy, is the epitomized expression of cultural arrogance: nation-building.
This belief in the political and cultural superiority of the West has produced nothing but horrific results, both for the United States, the major global power that incorporated it into both its military and diplomatic foreign policies, and even more so for those countries that were subjected to this arrogance. How many dead Afghans and Iraqis are there in the world today because this republic, like some god, thought it could create subservient client states in its own image?
I do not intend to offer any sort of exposé on policies such as nation-building in this introduction. This is not the proper venue for such a discussion. I mention it to illustrate that republicanism as a form of government that functions on the democratic process does not exist within a fantasy-laden vacuum of delightful benefits for those who live under its umbrella. Republics, just like monarchies and dictatorships, exist within the universe of power politics. Like monarchies and dictatorships, they are susceptible to the excesses born of human greed.
In the end, however, republicanism and the democratic processes which mark its true expression, as well as the potential energies to release human goodness that it possesses, are of such great value to humanity that the sooner it spreads to all nations of this world—not through nation-building imposed by an external power but through natural cultural evolution—the safer, more secure, and more equitable will be the world in which we all live.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
Some of the most important things I try to illuminate for people who read my essays and perhaps also watch the related videos on my YouTube channel (artlife enterprises) are the concepts that are essential to the republican form of government. To be clear, I am not talking about government by the Republican Party in the United States, but modern, liberal republicanism as a form of government, which I often refer to as “a republic that functions on the democratic process.