OPINION —
The Character Council of Opelika exists to encourage character traits in our community. As the council promotes character words, we find inspiration in the writings of America’s Founders, whose own words reveal the very traits we seek to cultivate today.
Two of our founding documents capture this spirit well: The Preamble and the Declaration closing paragraph.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence tells us something of the 56 signers of the Declaration. The signers, and the Founders more broadly, left behind a record of their character in their own words. We know something of their character from quotes preserved in their writings. Here are samples of such quotes that reveal the mettle of which these signers were made:
“The happiness of mankind, as well as the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon peace,” George Washington.
Trait: Peace, wisdom
Washington consistently warned against unnecessary conflict, both foreign and domestic, advocating for peace and restraint.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish,” John Adams.
Trait: Patience, endurance
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” President John Adams, “To the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts,” Oct. 11, 1798.
Trait: Integrity, virtue
Adams believed steady character mattered more than brilliance in building a nation.
“The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens,” Thomas Jefferson.
Trait: Kindness, fairness
Jefferson tied justice and compassion directly to moral governance.
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country,” Samuel Adams.
Trait: Goodness, moral responsibility
Adams believed virtue in citizens was the foundation of liberty.
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom,” Benjamin Franklin.
Trait: Self-control,
goodness essential to
national strength
This idea was shared broadly among the Founders: liberty requires character.
“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty,” James Madison.
Trait: Wisdom
Madison favored reason and education over force or arrogance.
“We the people of the United States…” means that this is a nation based on self-governance. The nation is governed, managed or directed by people who are governing themselves. If our nation becomes a majority of people who do not govern and discipline themselves, we will lose “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Our nation was founded and established under the rule of Law. “Law is king; not king is law,” as Samuel Rutherford elegantly wrote. All citizens of this nation first submit to the Law of the U.S. Constitution. This is the first and fundamental stage of self-governance.
Our founders had imperfections. However, there is evidence that they valued moral and ethical behavior. We would do well to emphasize the same in our communities where we live, work and play.
Opelika Character Council
