Becoming a citizen who changes the world through political or economic action requires a laser sharp understanding of fundamental principles and definitions – and perhaps an instinctive refusal to allow others to define those principles and definitions for us.
“Politics” comes from the Greek word politikos, from politēs ‘citizen’ and polis ‘city.’ Politics isn’t limited to corrupt acts plotted in smoke filled rooms, but more fundamentally is how people organize to change society.
“Religion” comes from a Latin derivation of ligare to ‘bind’ and ‘connect’ and defines the beliefs and practices we value, whether they include supernatural forces or not.
For most of history, political and religious forces were intertwined – the King and the Pope – decided how society was organized and the common man was bound, starting with power emanating from the top.
The world shifted when in the late nineteenth century, Karl Marx separated religion from politics and Adam Smith championed the invisible hand – free choice guided by market prices. “Economics” emerged as an alternative to hierarchical power as a way to organize society, even as values were driven from the public square.
Politics, religion and economics have been battling ever since, in America within a competitive political framework constructed by our Founding Fathers, who believed a free and virtuous citizenry through self-governance could build a nation based on ideas and principles.
Why do these definitions matter? Because in order to change the world, Eagles need to understand the real battles aren’t necessarily about elections or laws, but about principles and ideas. Debates about how society should be organized – either by the firm hand of government or the invisible hand of economics –then become clearer.
We see that values matter too, and that religion — understood as the commitments and beliefs that unite us as a nation, rather than superstitions that divide us into warring tribes – must be a part of the debate, and debated with judgment and tolerance.
On such definitions do the commitments and covenants of flawed human beings rest, as well as the future of the richest, most powerful and fairest nation on earth.
That’s why it’s important for the young women and men who will lead it to start their trials now.