Secret to Good Government? Think Small!

Left wing… Right wing… two sides of the same coin! Most people approach their political views from a self-interest point of view. Those who feel prosperous want to protect it. Those who feel poverty seek to remedy it.

Thus, if a person’s experience changes, such as a poor person becoming rich or vice-versa, there’s a likelihood that their political beliefs will change as well since their interests have changed. But what if we approached our politics from another perspective that wasn’t about our own benefit?

As long as people think of government as if it is somehow separate from himself, then they are always going to support laws in such a way that benefits them personally. Some people think government is too big, some too small. Others think we shouldn’t have government at all! Ideal governments should be nothing more than representatives of the community. The truth is there will always be a need for government the same way that there will always be a need to educate children, feed people, protect communities and take care of the elderly. One helpful idea is instead of thinking of government as a “we” versus “them” you should shrink the scenario of government down to a manageable size.

If you could imagine you and 25 of your closest friends or associates all living together in an isolated town or deserted island, what would be needed for all of you to survive and live comfortably? Clearly, certain people would be naturally better at certain things than others. And obviously your focus on the survival of the entire group would be most important since you know everyone in the group and they all mean something to you personally; not to mention if the group disappears then your own chances of survival decrease. Designating specific people to do certain tasks is not only smart but promotes cooperation, organization and harmony – the beginnings of government.

Since there would be many things that needed to get done for your survival such as searching for food, preparing the food, providing safety of the entire group, cleaning and maintaining good health, establishing rules for handling disagreements etc., it would be difficult to get them all done yourself so assigning responsibilities helps to achieve an overall good for everyone. Clearly, these are the main objectives of all governments; even dictatorships have to provide solutions to these problems otherwise the people become rebellious and the numbers would overthrow the government. The problem with large communities is when we begin to judge whose “doing more” or “more valuable” than another. We must learn to appreciate everyone’s contribution to the greater good even if their talents aren’t often utilized such as the “town’s guardsman” when there’s never been any sort of invasion. But imagine how important he becomes when he does warn the village of an impending threat!

A small and efficient government in which everyone in the group was a part, would be run in such a way that is in the best interests of the entire group and not just for one person to prosper while everyone else in the group suffers. Since most of us won’t end up on a deserted island with our closest friends we need to apply the same thinking in the neighborhoods and communities we already live in. We must first govern ourselves then get involved in our neighborhoods to do what’s most beneficial for the neighborhood. As neighbors we form communities and as communities we influence local government, towns, cities, states and ultimately the federal level.

Being involved in our communities goes beyond just voting once every two to four years. It is only when we get involved on this small level that we can help to influence the macro-level. By staying involved at the small level we get to minimize the influence of big dollars and corporate interests. In small groups we more closely identify and relate with our peers. We are more concerned with their welfare and not just our own. We want everyone to be taken care of, be fed, have health and be happy. However, when government becomes massive we then begin to hear words like “welfare,” “socialism,” “bailouts,” and “lobbyists.” When things are done on the small level we don’t think of feeding our neighborhoods as welfare, we think of it as a block party. We don’t think of taking care of the sick as healthcare reform, we think of it as commonsense and preventing the spread of diseases for our own health. We don’t think of giving handouts to those that don’t deserve it, we think of maintaining our families and protecting the value of our neighborhoods.

Those of us who have lived long enough will know that we all have peaks and valleys in life. We will have ups and downs. There will be times we are floating on air and other times where we see nothing but dark clouds. We should think less of judging and directing another person’s life and think of the better good of all humanity. At the end of the day creating a utopian world isn’t the ultimate goal; it is finding our happiness and fulfillment in what we can control – ourselves! Each of us whether rich or poor, famous or unknown, male or female, young or old has equal access to our relationship with Spirit. Go within the “smallness” & “stillness” of the temple of your soul and find the Infinite Lord. Establish the proper governance in your own bodily kingdom and you will find perfection… even in an imperfect world!