Consent of the Governed

The phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government’s legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and lawful when consented to by the people or society over which that political power is exercised. This idea is called popular sovereignty. The Declaration of Independence had stated this idea clearly when it said: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

In a democracy, people give implicit consent by accepting the laws and services of the government to which they pledge their allegiance. They also give enforcement authority to that government to deal with those who break the laws. This authority is, itself, derived from the consent of the majority and always expressed in writing that is open to oversight by the judicial branch of government. The role of the judicial branch is to ensure the enforcement of laws complies with the intent of the legislation that created the law. Each decision rendered sets a precedent for future cases. This turns a static set of laws written for one era into a dynamic set of laws that accommodates the changing values of those governed by the laws. It also ensures that the laws are applied equally to those governed by them.

Although the “consent of the governed” was applied in a unique way in those democracies that sprang up in the 18th Century, it is actually an ancient concept that influenced the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Israelites long before it found its way into the Declaration of Independence. The primary difference was in how “consent” was obtained.

• The Egyptians obtained consent by making it part of their religious dogma. Consent to be governed by the Pharaoh was the only path to eternal life.
• The Greek leaders obtained consent through logic and rational choice. Greeks loved wisdom and gave their consent to men of wisdom.
• The Roman consent was aligned with an insatiable need for law and order. It also helped when a leader was able to conduct and win wars. Caesar and his linage were especially adept in this feature.
• The Israelites found it easy to give their consent to be governed by Prophets who spoke directly to God. However, in later years they reverted to being governed by kings to whom God delegated this authority.

In the 20th Century, new methods of gaining the consent of the governed came into play. Coercion, fear, and violence were employed by unscrupulous totalitarian leaders to obtain and secure the consent of those they chose to govern.
So today We The People, who are fortunate enough to live in a country where our consent is given freely and protected in a written contract, need to appreciate the hidden value of that phrase. We get to renew that consent every 4 years through our vote for POTUS. That is the good news. The bad news is that our silence infers our consent to be governed by whomever is elected.

In a healthy nation, every eligible citizen would voice this consent by whatever peaceful means was available. This consent would be based on the knowledge gleaned from observation of the candidate’s past behavior balanced against expectations of future performance. This knowledge would not come from propaganda, biased journalism, or foreign influence. It would come from the same source our Founding Fathers had. self-evident Truth.

We the people have the opportunity to renew our consent in November of this year. If we chose to remain silent or base our consent on wishful thinking and outside influencers, then we are showing other nations that our Founding Fathers were wrong. Consent of the governed can only be obtained by coercion whether through force or religious dogma.