I continue to be amazed as to the sources of content for my blogs. This past weekend two separate and unrelated experiences echoed a linked message. A message that has been front of my mind and heavy on my heart.
On Saturday while walking around Colonial Williamsburg, we sat in on one of their Nation Builders talks. These are excellent, a joy to attend, and one of the many things we appreciate living here. Speaking was George Wythe, an often-overlooked member of our Founding Fathers. George was raised in a prominent Quaker family and adhered to Quaker traditions throughout much of his life. He expressed a strong personal philosophy centered on virtue, morality, and the importance of love, a view aligned with the core tenets of Christianity and Quakerism. His talk was on the link between Sovereignty & Responsibility.
The talk started with a reciting of the Declaration of Independence. This historic document asserted American sovereignty, defining it as the ability of the colonies to exist as a separate, self-governing nation. Then Wythe spoke fervently on his belief that individual sovereignty was a natural right requiring individuals act with reason and virtue. The concept of individual sovereignty places the individual, rather than a monarch or the state, at the center of a just society. While not explicitly stated, it is a fundamental principle within the Declaration of Independence, which asserts all individuals possess inherent, unalienable rights endowed by a creator. These unalienable rights cannot endure unless the people recognize their corresponding obligations and responsibilities. Individual responsibility means maintaining one’s moral integrity and actively participating in civic life.
He furthered stressed individual ‘sovereignty responsibility’ refers to the ethical principle that individuals, as the ultimate authority over their own lives, must take accountability for their actions and choices within society. It connects personal freedom with a duty to oneself and the wider community. It acknowledges personal actions have consequences that affect others and require engaging with one’s community responsibly.
While the idea of self-governance is central to American thought, it is linked to the well-being of the broader community and does not imply an absolute freedom from social obligation. From day one, the American tradition has incorporated the responsibility to care for others and uphold the common good. It is the sovereign’s responsibility to care for others as its authority is tied to the welfare of its people. What George Wythe was saying is that we are the ‘sovereign’ and it is our duty.
Then on Sunday at Mass, the sermon centered around Faith & Dependency. Having faith requires believing in someone, we are dependent on someone. Faith exists in a relationship and is built on trust and belief in someone or something greater than oneself.
Faith is a personal act but is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. We have not given ourselves faith just as we have not given ourselves life. Faith is not self-generated; it is received from previous generations of believers and passed on to future ones. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. If we are a people of faith, then we are a people of dependency.
When we have faith in believing a friend will keep their promise it is a dependency on trusting their personal character. Addiction recovery programs are faith-based and emphasize dependence as a positive, intentional trust in God and community. My faith has grown immeasurably because of support from others, especially my wife. I believe I must pay it forward and support others in their faith.
St Paul’s letter to Timothy is a great example of one Christian building up the faith of another. Timothy didn’t come to faith in a vacuum; it was dependent upon others. For starters, it was passed on to him by his grandmother and mother. Then Paul became the spiritual father to Timothy.
There are dangers of hyper-individualism. An extreme focus on individual self-sufficiency isolates us from our responsibility to our community. It prevents us from upholding the common good. It limits, not only our growth, but the overall growth of the community. Community engagement and connections are necessary for both individual and collective well-being. What you and I do, we become.
I have written before on the aspects of scarcity and abundance mentalities. Individualism is a scarcity mentality while the community reflects abundance mentality. We have developed an individualistic culture with an emphasis of the individual over the group. We value personal goals and achievements over group interests and improving the common good. We lack synergy.
The core idea is a deep, unwavering Christian faith which we have gained by depending on others provides the ultimate moral framework, rooted in the divine love that transforms the self and prevents the individual sovereignty from descending into pure selfishness. From this strength, a spiritually sovereign individual ought to exercise their free will to choose to love and serve others, rather than being forced by obligation. The ultimate expression of a faith-rooted, sovereign self is the active, unconditional love of one’s neighbor.
Faith, having been dependent upon others, is the source; responsible individual sovereignty is the agent; and love of neighbor is the action that demonstrates both.
