While many work tirelessly for effective public policy and institutions that cultivate an environment of lawfulness and public virtue, the truth is growing more and more obvious: It is not possible to legislate morality.
President John Adams observed this in 1798 about America's "supreme law of the land": "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
In plain terms, those who operate individually with a set of core values need fewer laws and are less a burden upon society.
The simplicity of the enumerated powers of the founding document crafted and approved in 1787 was intended to create a small, limited government that only intervened in the affairs and activities in which the citizenry could not serve themselves.
Adams' sentiment was based on the premise that those who are moral and religious are taught that personal conduct and behavior must be rooted in goodness and honor; that truth is the currency of a noble and durable society; that obeying civil law is a testimony to one's character; and that deviancy is shameful, punished and not tolerated.
Hence, a limited government is adequate.
More than 200 years after John Adams' observation, the holy secular trinity of me, myself, and I is the deity most frequently worshipped, with each person creating a personal definition of right and wrong and fashioning his own system of laws.
Why is this important?
Let's look at just one example. Our Constitution and the Bill of Rights honor private property and the rights of citizens to have and enjoy fruits of their labor. Scripture declares "Do not steal." Yet, theft at every level is rampant, from stealing petty items to scams of identity theft to corporate mischief.
The institutions of our society and society itself take on the morality of its people -- companies run by those of true integrity reflect honorable practices; organizations founded on core values animate those through habits of employees; government leaders anchored in authentic virtues serve from a platform of credibility and trust.
Conversely, our institutions and society suffer if led by and founded upon those who need rules, regulations and vigilant oversight due to the absence of a core of morality.
What's the relevance?
While our attentions are captured by many issues driven by politics, policy and power these days, we'd be best served by those who instead apply principle to such concerns as the equal enforcement of our laws, the value of work versus dependency and the expectation of conduct that doesn't infringe upon the productivity and private property of others, just to name a few.
Saying it more simply, America doesn't need more laws. We need people who are internally governed by a core that reflects goodness, decency, truth and morality.
And, no, this doesn't mean attending a church long enough to get your name on the roll for your campaign material or getting the "talking points" of your faith down without life application.
A great quote from William Shakespeare nails it: "Lawless are they that make their wills their law."
Yet since it's much more "sinful" to expect standards of our leaders and organizations, meaning you're "judgmental" or "intolerant," we'll continue to attempt to maneuver in the world of politics.
And what did Jesus say about those who knew the religious talking points while rejecting that defilement comes from within? "They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."
Let's get America out of the ditch.
Robin Smith, immediate past Tennessee Republican Party chairwoman, is owner of Rivers Edge Alliance.