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☀️Checks and Balances Is Not a Band Name
To my knowledge, Checks and Balances is not a band name, but it would be a good one. So would Separation of Powers. “That new SOP album is drip!” Imagine the great conversations we could have. Even more, imagine the great US Constitution we could be following.
Checks and balances in the government starts not with a political practice but with an anthropological perception. Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see, and, oh, be careful, little voter, who you put in office. Not all men are the worst they could be, but every man is capable of going rogue. Christians have an explanation for this: the sin nature, and we’re all born this way. So the principle is that no man or small group of men should be given all the authority, and a system that separates powers seems like a good start.
On a broad level we have the three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The first makes laws, the second enforces those laws, and the last makes calls in court when there are questions about laws/lawbreakers.
I bring it up for more than a grammar level civics lesson (which many of our citizenry could use), but to highlight another division of powers between federal and state, as well as between state and local.
I’ve learned more about the “doctrine of the lesser magistrates” the last few years. Magistrate is another name for an authority, and here we’re talking about civil authorities. This “doctrine” is a political expression that recognizes that local authorities—so authorities over smaller areas and numbers of people—have responsibility to resist the higher authorities when the King/President, the Governor, the higher-up has made or is trying to enforce an unlawful rule. For example, a couple weeks ago the Governor of New Mexico banned the right to carry firearms in some public areas for at least 30 days (under her emergency powers in the aftermath of a shooting), and a County Sheriff said he would not enforce that ban; a federal judge has also now blocked that ban. That’s a good check.
The lesser magistrate discussion is a Christian discussion. I’d argue that it’s based on three main ideas. First, our submission is right; God has instituted governing authorities and delegated them power “to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14, see also Romans 13:1-7). Second, that means governing authorities have defined and limited powers, so we cannot obey someone who requires our disobedience to God. In other words, the state is NOT God. Third, those who have any measure of civil authority must protect their people from the overreach of other governing authorities, and the lesser authorities resist the higher human authorities because the higher authorities are actually resisting God and His standard of good.
For more on this, check out The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Resistance to Tyranny and a Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government.
While I appreciate the lesser magistrate piece, what if the lesser magistrate is the problem? What if the Mayor is a mini-despot and the Governor is a freedom-lover? It could look like we’re just picking and choosing according to whatever we like, and, of course, people do that. But if we Christians are constantly distinguishing good from evil, then we would be constantly excited about whatever authority at whatever level is doing the same.
Our moral responsibility is the same: before God we must do what He says is good. The strategic opportunity changes, to celebrate or to criticize different levels as necessary. This is not every man doing what is right in his own eyes, this is finding any man that will do what is right in God's eyes. May the Lord give us an increase of such courageous men.
☀️Misc News
Two Sun’s ago we applauded the work of homeschoolers. Last week The Seattle Times and the Everett Daily Herald reported that public school enrollment in WA is way down. Here’s some of the key stats:
“In Washington, more than 28,000 students were registered for home schooling in 2022-23, an increase of about 35% from 2019-20, according to data from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. In the same period, private school enrollment in Washington jumped by almost 26% from about 65,000 to nearly 82,000.” (Everett Daily Herald)
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal is still trying to give a positive spin on state schooling though “more than 50% of students cannot meet grade-level math standards.” (See more at the link here.)
This is more fun, especially if you enjoy a good chicken sandwich. It’s apparently still Marysville, and right across from the Lake Stevens city limits, but a new Chick-fil-A should break ground in 2024. Here’s the Herald’s announcement.
☀️Upcoming Events
Repair Cafe - Saturday, September 23, 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Marysville Library. From the event page: “Bring your vacuums, lamps, bikes, jewelry…anything you might have and one of our volunteer fixers will diagnose the issue and do their best to make it usable again. They will show you their process, order parts if necessary, and help you learn how you can do it on your own with videos or one-on-one instruction.”
Snohomish County Action Night - Wednesday, October 3, 5:00-7:00pm. Mayor Jon Nehring and Snohomish Councilman Nate Nehring are hosting this second annual event, and this year features guests Jonathan Choe—journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth and Poverty, along with Sheriff Adam Fortney and Representative Jim Walsh. Tickets are requited, and a registration link is available by messaging Mayor Nehring.
☀️Friday Fun
The arch would be worst for me, but it’s all flagitious.
Want to see this in action? Here’s 14 brutal seconds of barefoot treadmill running over LEGO bricks, and here’s an attempt at the World’s Longest LEGO Walk by Dude Perfect.
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