Here’s the thing. The government has a responsibility — and we have given it such, simply by dwelling in the land — to intervene in the lives of the people in the case of ethical trespass. We as citizens, in turn, have the authority and responsibility to intervene in government in the case of ethical trespass.

What Mr. Locke doesn’t necessarily highlight in his Contract is that the government must intervene within the government… and the people must intervene in the lives of other people.

I am convinced that it is only when all four of these systems of checks and balances are in alignment — with ethical excellence at their center — that we will have a functional society.

Our biggest issue in the modern age is this: We weigh some issues (and, consequently, people) as more valuable than others. And we even go as far as neglecting some altogether, especially those that don’t directly pertain to us.

And as long as one person opts to champion any one issue to the neglect of others, we will have an unequal society.

So regardless of one’s position in this land, governing or governed (which, in this case, are one in the same), if there is any reason for society at all, one must focus on attributing value and care to every person — and every type of person — and this includes loving people in authority enough to hold them accountable for their respective responsibilities, whether your president or your neighbor or your self. We must all give account to a gracious and compassionate, righteous and just standard, because without it, organized society has no purpose in the first place.

So anyways. That’s why I bothered to vote.Photo by The U.S. National Archives