Edmund Burke, an Irish member of the English Parliament and one of the few who argued that the American Colonies were justified in their rebellion, once said, “A representative owes the People not only his industry, but his judgment, and he betrays them if he sacrifices it to their opinion.” Or so says the movie/musical 1776 based on the events surrounding the Second Continental Congress. Whether or not this is an accurate quote or not doesn’t seem to matter as much as whether it is correct. It would appear that in today’s world that the quote doesn’t hold true. In a Democracy the people are suppose to rule, and thus the majority faction will always have sway. On Sunday, September 9th Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden appeared on Meet the Press and was asked, as was Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when he thought life began. To clarify a few things, Speaker Pelosi had appeared on the show a few weeks ago and responded that the Catholic Church has never been certain as to when life began (the Catholic Church has always taught life begins at conception.) This drew the ire of Catholics all over the country and a response from the Arch Bishop of Denver during the Democratic National Convention. Biden, a Catholic, was likewise asked and responded that life begins at conception, however, he could not force his morality on others.
It is this argument that contradicts the supposed quote from Edmund Burke concerning the obligation a Representative of the people owes to the people. Biden believes, as do many Senators and Representatives do, that they are obligated to refrain from forcing their morality on the people. Yet, the point of the American regime is that we have representatives. We are, at the least, a Representative Democracy and at the most a Republic. It is the duty of the representatives to represent the people and as such be their voice and advocate on state and federal levels. Consider what Federalist 53 states, “No man can be a competent legislator who does not add to an upright intention and a sound judgement a certain degree of knowledge of the subjects on which he is to legislate.” Clearly the Founding generation believed that men would be elected to office who were capable of making legislative decisions. This ability is what allows that individual the right to be a legislator rather than depending on the people to vote on every issue. If the people were expected to vote on every issue, or to have their personal opinions on the matter injected into the debate , then there would be no need for a representative legislator.
According to Publius, the government representatives were to be proportioned to roughly 20,000 citizens in hopes that the people would be able to know their representative and the representative know his people. Like the understanding of trail by jury, the jury was suppose to know of the person who is accused of a crime so that they would know the quality of the accused. The people were expected to vote according to the person, not the issues, in hopes that the person chosen to represent them would be capable of making the decisions. A leader must be able to have the confidence to assert his opinion on a matter on behalf of the people. The leader owes his followers his right judgement. Federalist 55 states, “As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust, so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence . Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form.” In our government, the people are expected to place their trust in a single person who then speaks with one voice for all of them.
Senator Biden’s assumption that a representative cannot enforce his morality on those he represents goes against what was expected of representatives in the Founding. Representative leadership presupposes that the people are unable to represent themselves. The character of a Representative should be such that it is beyond reproach. Once again Publius argues, “It is a sound and important principle that the representative ought to be acquainted with the interests and circumstances of his constituents.”(Federalist 56.) Likewise, the people ought to elect a representative who shares those interests and circumstances as his constituents. Therefore, the representative is never forcing his opinion on anyone, but rather upholding the opinions and beliefs of the people. The representative must be able to decipher between the will of the people and the passion of the people. We elect representatives so that only the most well regarded opinions become law, not simply the passions of the people.
Our leaders owe it us to adhere to their conscience when making decisions in Congress, the Oval Office, the Court room, or the battlefield. While they ought to understand and know our interests and circumstances, they owe it to us to use their best judgment in making decisions. Therefore, if Biden was truly doing his job and was justly elected by his constituents then he would not be forcing his morality on the people because they ought to share in his morality and he in theirs. A President, Congressman, or Senator does not have time to go back and check with their constituents on what actions should be taken. They are put into their office to make the decisions the average person cannot. When Senator Obama was in the Illinois State Senate and in 140 votes was only able to know he was present, he failed his constituents who expected that he would be able to say yes or no to the bills presented to him. The people will let their representative know if they made a wrong decision by not electing them to another term. It is unfathomable that Senator Biden would say it is not the place of a Representative to use his best judgment in representing his constituents. As the voters, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard in electing officials so that only those most fit and able hold representative office.
Stumble It!
Excellent argument! Thank you for posting this.
A well written argument. Switzerland is a true Democracy. They have elections once a month. We are not a Democracy, we are a Democratic Republic, and as such, we elect leaders with the hope that they will use their intellect and good judgment for our common good. For example, while it MAY be absolutely reasonable for people to tote guns in an open area like Montana’s countryside, it certainly is not in Newark, New Jersey. The people who live in those places have strong opinions about their rights to either carry or be protected from guns. I know this isn’t the best argument, since State’s Rights can be helpful in this case, but my point is that in such a diverse, mixed country as ours, a fact we take pride in, the majority isn’t always right. Think slavery, segregation, McCarthy Era. It took the voices of the minority to correct these wrongs. Many of them our leaders. Had some of them listened to their conscience, rather than their constituency, these evils might have been purged earlier.
I believe that”a representative owes the People not only his industry, but his judgment, and he betrays them if he sacrifices it to their opinion,” is a correct statement in most cases. But this is America, and we can agree to disagree. Isn’t that fabulous?
I’ve battled whether or not to point this out, since your essay is so well written, but decided to, since I would want to know had I written it–the correct way to say it is “supposed to,” not “suppose to.”
Many thanks for an intelligent, well thought out argument.
Thank you Amanda and might I point out one error, we are not a Democratic Republic. We are a Republic with Democratic tendencies. A Democratic Republic is a Communist state.
While I agree with your sentiments, I must disagree. The reason Slavery, segregation, and all those other evils were able to persist was because the representatives of those people wanted it just as badly as the people did. Slavery was wholly accepted as a part of life in the Antebellum South. Segregation was enforced not just by the government representatives in the South, but by Americans in general. McCarthyism too was an accepted part of life. Evils persist not because of a few government officials want them to, but because the people want them to.