Fallen from Virtue

I am ashamed to say that I am one of “those people” who lives in the United States of America – one of the most blessed nations in the history of mankind – and I do not truly know or understand what government truly is…or what it should be. But I’m on the journey to learn!
I’ve been struggling while reading all of the different views from Burke, Paine, Locke, Hobbes…I’m trying so hard to pick a side, a theory, a belief, but I’ve yet to find one that I totally accept as right. I don’t know if I will, but while I was wrestling with the questions this week, I found something that has at least tied all of their arguments together for me to a certain degree. There have been hints of the foundation of virtue (or lack of) throughout all of the excerpts we have read so far, but Thomas Paine addresses it strongly in his Common Sense.
Paine states, “Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world.”
Paine obviously views government as a “necessary evil.” Evil is the lack of perfection, the lack of good. So if government is evil, it is falling short of something…which is virtue. That means that virtue has to exist in order for it to be lost. The question then arises: since we know that virtue can be lost (it was lost in Eden), are people more virtuous or vicious by nature? I don’t know if I know the answer, but this is what I’ve concluded so far…
GOD is Virtue. If man is indeed created in His image, then there is something desirous of virtue inside of us, for we desire Him. Yes, we are fallen. It’s easier to be fallen. But we are fallen and unsatisfied when we do not pursue GOD and all that He is…when we do not pursue virtue. I believe that government would not be needed if not for the fall. It is a type of evil, for it is a result of sin. But since the world we live in is infused with evil, government is a necessity. We are no longer in Eden. So since we must have it, what is its purpose? This is where I agree with Paine. Not everyone will be virtuous. People sin. People commit evil every day. Yet all people desire virtue. Some just realize it more and pursue it harder. Paine says that proper end – the goal – of government is to help us come closer to virtue. (So should government then draw us closer to GOD? I won’t even begin that argument now, but it’s something to ponder. J) If people will stray from virtue, from morality, then perhaps government is GOD’s instrument in bringing us back.
Here is my conclusion – it’s rough, but I’m still seeking these things out : We are fallen. GOD is sovereign. He uses evil for good. He can use government – like all things – for His glory and our good. Government without Him, is…well, that is a topic for another blog. This one may not make too much sense…but it’s part of the process to find the answer. I’ll end with a quote from class Thursday…
“Virtuous people can produce a good government; a good government is not guaranteed to produce virtuous people.”
GOD is the root of all virtue. Without Him, where are we left? And what of our government?

~I commented on Seth's blog post~