Federalist No. 64 – Janine Turner

Howdy from Texas.

Publius speaks in Federalist No. 64

“That the attention and votes will be directed to those men only who have become the most distinguished by their abilities and virtues.”

Virtue. Virtue is a very beautiful word. Virtue. It is a word used quite often in the Federalist and is obviously a word that carried with it tremendous power and necessity in both the course of human endeavors and the political sphere. Do we still revere it today?

Virtue: the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. 2. Any admirable quality or attribute; “work of great merit” 3. A particular moral excellence.

An acronym of the word virtue lists what we should look for in our representatives and in our future candidates.

Verify

Identify

Responsibility

Trust

Understand

Engage

1.Verify our Representative’s and/or candidate’s claims.

2. Do we identify and agree with our Representative and/or candidate’s mission?

3. Does our Representative and/or candidate have a record of civic responsibility?

4. Do we trust that our Representative and/or candidate will uphold our Constitution?

5. Is our Representative and/or candidate’s mission thoroughly transparent and do we thoroughly understand his/her mission beyond the, as John Jay states in Federalist No. 64, “brilliant appearances of genius and patriotism, which, like transient meteors, sometimes mislead as well as dazzle.”

6. Do we feel that our Representative and/or candidate will engage in proper behavior and maintain a steady course to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity?

Virtue in our leaders is most definitely a necessity that our present times warrant.

The preamble mentioned above is profoundly pertinent to our struggles today.

Establish Justice – a Republic promises this to what extent and at what price?

Ensure domestic tranquility – do not our borders need to be defended in a prudent, precise manner that prevents a spark from becoming a bonfire?

Provide for the common defense – the enemy is in the field – is due diligence being paid to this omnipresent fact?

Promote the general welfare – are not the definitions of this statement at a fevered pitch? Promote the general welfare to the point of a Republic’s and its people’s demise?

Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity – Are our children guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Will our Republic still stand for them?

“However useful jealousy may be in republics, yet when, like bile in the nature, it abounds too much in the body of politics, the eyes of both become very liable to be deceived, by the delusive appearances that the malady casts on surrounding objects.”

John Jay says it best. Relevant? I say, “yea.”

“They who have turned their attention to the affairs of men, must have perceived that there are tides in them; tides very irregular in their duration, strength, and direction, and seldom found to run twice exactly in the same manner or measure. To discern and to profit by these tides in national affairs is the business of those who preside over them; and they who have had much experience on this head inform us, that there frequently are occasions when days, nay, even when hours, are precious.”

Ominous, foreboding and motivating is John Jay’s wisdom.

Who will pay heed?

God Bless and I thank you for joining us and I thank Professor Morrisey for his true commitment and patriotism.

Janine Turner

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

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