The Status of the Relationship between the Citizen and the Government

Abstract

From the founding of America, the relationship between the citizens and their government has been central to the definition of our nation. We were established as a nation of people who rely on certain “self-evident truths” to guide how we conduct our official business. Personal liberty, maximum individual freedom, and a God-given endowment of equality form the centerpiece of our system. These gifts from our Creator are unalienable—they cannot be detached from us as individuals—and the government must operate within a framework that acknowledges and protects the supremacy of these individual rights.