Of Liberty and the Caesars

As we near another annual celebration of our Declaration of Independence and the proclamation of American liberty, it is worthwhile reflecting on what that independence and liberty rest. At its core, the American Revolution revolved around the deep desire to preserve something. That something was the rule of law, an elementary principle of government that the founding fathers had found here and nurtured. The rule of law is the fundamental idea that we should be governed by laws and not by men. It is that principle that throughout our history has set America apart from the rest of the world. Embracing the rule of law the founders built our nation upon a written Constitution.

Our founding fathers frequently used the word “liberty” when referring to the rule of law. When they said “liberty” they did not mean wantonness and libertinism, to be abusive without consequence. Our founding fathers meant by “liberty” the freedom that they had found in America to live beyond the wanton grasp of the arbitrary rule of kings, lords, ladies, and even parliaments. Our founding fathers were comfortable with the idea of government only if what the government did—or more precisely, if what the people in government did—was closely and clearly controlled by laws that everyone understood. To them that meant that they had liberty, and they loved it. The Declaration of Independence is a detailed protest by the Congress of the thirteen new States against the arbitrary violations of the rule of law—of American liberty—by the British crown.

Precisely because the American Revolution was an appeal to the rule of law we succeeded in creating a stable government and society where the French Revolution (and many others since)—appealing to the rule of men, albeit a different crowd of men—fell into chaos and anarchy, merely replacing one despotism with another. The French tore down the monarchy in order to replace it with the Reign of Terror. Americans enshrined liberty in a document that still operates today to resist the arbitrary rule of one group of men over the rest. The Constitution protects the rights of each and all—individuals and minorities—through the rule of law.

The rule of law was not a new idea. Rome’s greatness was built upon it. Its weakness and eventual collapse came as the Romans traded the rule of law for the rule of men under the Caesars. Even then, the Roman tradition of the rule of law was so strong that it took nearly 500 years for the progressive rule of men to lead to the sack of Rome and the ushering in of the Dark Ages, an era dominated by the rule of men.

The idea of the rule of law, however, is much older than Rome. It is found at the heart of Christianity, reaching back to the Garden, from which man was expelled by the breaking of law. Man was redeemed from the broken law by Jesus Christ, whose great sacrifice was made to bind up the broken law and create the path for man to live in harmony with divine law. In modern times Jesus Christ explained the eternal purpose of law in these words: “that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:34)

As our eternal freedom is protected by law, so it is with our civil freedom. Law is our shield against the whim of other men. Without the law, our only defense against someone’s whim is the protection provided to us by the whim of someone stronger. That is the essence of feudalism. That is what our founding fathers were so desperate to leave behind in the Old World, whichever “Old World” they left. That same search for liberty under the law inspires many refugees to America today.

That is perhaps why Americans are made nervous by all of the policy “czars” that have been created by the Obama administration. Czars suggest rule by men rather than by law. “Czars,” the Russian variant of the Latin “Caesar,” are justified by the argument that “they can get things done,” but in the doing they rely upon the arbitrary will of single individuals invested with extraordinary power: rule by men (and women).

Congress is on the verge of enacting—unless the Senate votes “No” when it returns to session in mid July—a major restructuring of the American financial system that would replace rule of law with the rule of men. The new structure rests upon enormous power given to new financial czars. There is a new czar for all federally-chartered banks and thrifts, a new financial consumer czar with power to dictate every aspect of any financial product and service that is offered to the public, and a new systemic risk council with authority to reorganize or even break up any company in America if in their opinion its operations are too risky for the financial economy. The authorities that this new legislation would give are broad, the instructions on how to use those authorities vague, and the ability to find appeal from the mandates of the new czars seriously restricted.

Our founding fathers, who escaped from that kind of rule, would have warned us.