Think Politics isn’t for you?

In relation to politics, and by politics I just mean what the government does, we hear a lot of people saying, “Oh, that’s not really for me,” “That’s what the politicians are for, leave it to them,” or something to that extent; the majority of people don’t really seem to find much interest in what government does, but this kind of attitude doesn’t really make any sense and is harmful to the individual that thinks it.

In a government where the only reason of its existence is because of the people, there is no other place to put the blame of its actions except on the individual. This fact makes each of us morally accountable for the actions our government makes; LDS belief and revelation supports this. D&C 134:1 says, “We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making the laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.” Obviously we are held accountable, so we might want to take account of our level of involvement in our government’s affairs and possibly reconsider our actions – or lack thereof.

Now, seeing how we are to blame for political doings and that we need to act to redeem our past neglect, we must ask the question of how we know when government is acting correctly or not. The answer to this is easy really; we just need to remember that whether an individual is working alone or a group of people are working together, the principles of judging their actions remains the same. David O. McKay said, “I refer to the fundamental principle of the gospel, free agency. References in the scriptures show that this principle is (1) essential to man’s salvation; and (2) may become a measuring rod by which the actions of men, or organizations, of nations may be judged.” (President David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, pp. 299-300)

Freedom, besides being essential to salvation, is the measuring rod of our actions; it is how we can and are going to be judged. If one person takes another’s freedom in one way or another it is a sin, and it is the same no matter how many people participate or how they do it, that is easy to conclude with the test of conscience – the golden rule. If certain actions that we perform as individuals are sinful, then government can’t carry out the same actions in the name of the people without sinning itself, and from what we concluded earlier, the sin will fall on our heads. For Example: if I personally can’t, without sinning, take money from one person and give it to somebody I think needs it more, government has no right to do it in my behalf and indeed can’t without sinning.

So you may not have cared about politics before or didn’t understand them very well, but though it is not your know-how or interest, hopefully now you will at least give some thought and attention to it in your daily lives and let it weigh on your schedules even a little bit if you didn’t already, and hopefully when you think about the latest bill just passed or law enforced, you will think about it with a clearer outlook and understanding of what government can and can’t do.