I’m not likely ever to be in a position to decide or even to influence public policy, but I want to take my citizenship duties seriously, so I’ve given some thought to foundational principles that I could refer to when deciding how to vote. So far, I’ve come up with two:
1. Government is not God. I’m still unpacking all the implications of this. One is that nothing government attempts to do should require god-like powers. Hence, I oppose hate-crime laws, since only God is competent to judge motives. We can’t even judge our own accurately, much less anyone else’s. Another implication is that government should not be worshipped. There is no politician, no policy, no bureaucracy that can solve every problem: Only God can usher in the Kingdom of Heaven; only God can save us.
2. Tax policy should not be based on covetousness. My neighbor has a right to keep what he has earned or achieved by his talents and lawful efforts. Any politician who tells me that I should envy those who are richer or more successful has lost my vote. It’s fine to want to have more. It’s not fine to get it by taking from others, whether by confiscatory taxes on “fat cats” who supposedly have too much, or eminent domain seizures of property in poor neighborhoods.
