The Individual and Democracy

“If the independence of the individual and society is not sustained and fostered then it is the democracy of that body of that great nation which tires and inevitably sleeps to an endless discourse of which it is not.”

Chase McQuade

What is meant by the independence of the individual? It is not mere independence within the liberties that democracy provides, but independence from them—a continuing test of the democratic power the individual assumes in state. For states are not to be held only as territories bound by borders, but as reflections of the states of mind within those who live them.

The American’s independence from the liberties granted by government is the true measure of both the citizen and the nation. It is the test of whether the individual can govern themselves—through means, through education, through discernment—beyond what is offered by liberty itself. Independence is not granted; it is realized. It is the power of the governed to know what is best, and in that knowing, to preserve the ideal of freedom not as gift, but as discipline.

Where does the individual’s independence wane? It wanes in the groups and communities where Americans gather—where our beliefs and ideals meet, and where they are given merit. Yet this merit must never rest unquestioned. It must be challenged endlessly, for here lies the strength of our democracy, not its weakness.

Only within democracy can such endless challenge be sustained. For when the tyrant assumes his place, the trial of belief ceases. Ideals are no longer tested, but imposed. And in such a state, the very existence of the tyrant denies the existence of belief itself—for his authority demands not ideals, but submission.