If, then, it is natural for man to live in the society of many, there must exist among men some means by which the group may be governed. For where there are many men together and each one is looking after his own interest, the multitude would be broken up and scattered unless there were also an agency to take care of what appertains to the commonweal. In like manner, the body of a man or any other animal would disintegrate unless there were a general ruling force within the body which watches over the common good of all members. With this in mind, Solomon says: Where there is no governor, the people shall fall (Prov 11:14).
- St Thomas Aquinas De Regno Chapter 1
In this series, we’ve considered the means by which one might evaluate a place of worship in which to start a Polis. The reasoning being that Americans, having no Ethnicity, nothing to bind us together, and no Polis, need to develop one. I have thought of nothing else that would work, have seen nothing put forward, and have found this current solution to work well in my own life.
Now, unspoken but about to be addressed, is another reason why one would evaluate such a Polis. Time to slaughter a sacred liberal cow!
To be governed in any realm means that one must submit within those realms. I consider this fairly obvious, but I surmise that to the average liberal (or reader that is steeped in a liberal society) this may come as a shock.
There is no -us- if there is no authority at the top that can determine who is us and who is them.
No, you cannot simply refer back to dogmas and teachings. They do not interpret nor apply themselves to situations one comes across in life. The same with laws. If one is going to have a governor, that adheres to a Religious Creed, there must be a way to interpret that Creed, enforce it, and declare someone -them- if they don’t follow it. An example is Biden - If he were, say, a mayor in a Polity such as I have described, that stood by Catholicism, the Priest/Bishop should have excommunicated him or confronted him before it came to that. That way, he would have an opportunity to change his ways, not become them, but stay one of us, and all would be well.
Different Polities, according to Creeds, could obviously handle this in differing ways.
Or opt not to follow such a path, yet I don’t see how they could, without becoming contradictory in their philosophical premise and how to handle an us/them model.
The West has merely, since the Enlightenment, put Enlightenment values in the place of Theological ones. Anathematized upon Liberal Enlightenment values as the state religion, rather than ones under the word ‘religion.’ Thus, we are reflexively much more comfortable with those as our guidelines than the rest of the world. But trust me, there is a state religion, we have always adhered to it, and anathematized based upon it - we merely played sophistry with the word games.
A mere shift in stance to understand that we are either under the Authority of Liberal Dogmas as the Religion of State, or Religious Dogmas as the Religion of State, are what is needed.
That you can have Sodomites and Trannys as the Eunuchs as of your State Priests, or Stately Men in Cassocks and Frocks.
That you will be under the iron hand demanding abortions to Moloch and Euthanasia to sell your organs, or dignified death for all, regardless of age or state.
I could go on, but see no point.
The correct way is not hard to do. One simply has to ask for guidance of the religious leader in the Polity, and follow it in the areas where he has that authority. Let me give a recent example from my own life.
On the cemetery board I’m on, there was a theological question that myself as secretary and the President had been butting heads on for a month. I had done the research on it, consulted a priest (but not the one in authority), but the President was having issues with the answer.
I could tell some of them were personal, from my knowledge of his life, and relationship with him.
So, when the president went to The Priest with Authority, and got the answer to the question, he made a little snide comment like he got his way. I should mention he’s also not a very exact person, theologically, so I was concerned he didn’t present the issue honestly/exactly, and I scheduled time to meet with the Priest.
After I presented it, the answer I got was:
“Uncouth Barbarian, you’re not a Priest. If you’re going to trust us with the souls of the people in this community, you need to listen to us. The board can make decisions about how the cemetery runs, but we make decisions about what governs the souls in the community.”
Which was enough for me. He heard my concern, had addressed in in conversation previously, and then explicitly said he was taking people’s salvation into account.
And, at the end of the day, to a non-materialist, that’s what counts. That is what the us/them is about. Saving souls.
At this point if I disagreed it was not saving souls, and did not like the answer received, the only honest options left are to submit like a woman with resentment in my heart and work against the decision, or to leave the board. The same holds true in a Polity - if confronted with major decisions, one must submit, be dishonest, or become a Them.
So, you are searching for a Polis where you can Submit, and become us.
Or not, and you stay Them until you find a Home of your own.
The whole idea being that no one will fight for anyone that isn’t his brother, on Earth or in Heaven. Because blood ties are strong; yet ties of the soul are stronger.
And there are only so many ways to make that happen in this life.
Things differ by what is proper to each: they are united by what they have in common. But diversity of effects is due to diversity of causes. Consequently, beyond that which moves toward the proper good of each individual, there must exist something which moves toward the common good of the many. Also on account of this, in all things that are ordained towards one end, one thing is found to rule the rest. Thus, in the corporeal universe, corporeal things are regulated according to the order of Divine Providence by the first body (namely, the celestial body); and all physical creation is ruled by a rational creature. Likewise, in the individual man the soul rules the body, and, among the parts of the soul, the irascible and the concupiscible parts are ruled by reason. Likewise, among the members of a body, one (such as the heart or the head) is the principal and moves all the others. Therefore, in every multitude there must be some governing power.
- - St Thomas Aquinas De Regno Chapter 1