On Faith

The term faith is distinct from both religion and morality, with which it shares a connotation. Implicit in virtually all definitions of faith, however, is trust. Thus to be faithful is to trust and to be trustworthy.

One intersection of faith and governance in our democracy is the absolute necessity for those who aspire to or already hold public office to trust in the democratic principles that provide the basis for their election and, in turn, to be worthy of the public trust invested in them as servants of the people.

It may be glib to say that governance is what a government does, but it is precisely correct. Governance comes from the Greek verb κυβερνάω, meaning “to steer.” Plato is credited with the first use of the term. But, then, Plato also wrote, “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors,” which rightly should be understood to admonish all citizens—the “demos” (δῆμος, “people”)—to participate in the processes by which we are all governed, from the vetting of candidates to the supervision of our servant leaders once they are in office.

“Good governance” ought to be a redundant phrase. Governance, by its nature, implies the mutual exercise of trust. We trust those whom we place into leadership positions, and our public servants must keep faith with us and with our democratic system in order to govern properly. We all must have faith in our democratic principles and the structures of government derived from them. And those whom we place in positions of power must keep faith with us—all of us—whether we favored or opposed their election.

In 1996 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that “promoting good governance in all its aspects, including by ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption” are “essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper.”* While the IMF is focused on “economies” (upholding those, in particular, in the world’s progressive democracies), these “essential elements” apply equally to civil society. All of these elements—rule of law, efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption—are iterations of trust and must be paramount in the actions of those who are charged to keep faith with the people.

The intersection of faith and governance is brought into sharpest focus during periods when public offices are contested, as they are now during the run-up to the presidential election this year. Competition for public favor often brings to light not only a candidate’s beliefs, feigned or genuine, but also his or her faith in the democratic process. An unfortunate reality is that politicians’ stances on issues that sway voters are often guided by polls more than principles. With long media memory in play, it’s no wonder that accusations of flip-flopping on issues abound, as candidates “adjust” their beliefs to accord with the perceived wishes of a seemingly fickle electorate.

Faith again should be the response and the guide when candidates are tempted to alter their beliefs instead of holding true to their principles—faith that the people will discern through the miasma of hype and spin the true nature of their political aims. Sadly, most candidates succumb, to some degree, to the temptation to pander to the public’s wishes that their pollsters tell them will make their contest winnable.

Faith in democracy is an educated faith. In today’s over-legislated, over-tested, and underfunded schools, we are shirking our public responsibility to educate the voters of tomorrow in the discernment necessary for the maintenance of good governance. The most articulate of the American Founders, Thomas Jefferson, has been much quoted on the necessity of education to inform the citizens of a democracy if that democracy is to endure and to thrive. Although his most-quoted admonition refers also to a free press, it applies directly to education, which is vital to ensure that those who rely on the press, as we all must, can judge whether information is accurate or biased. Jefferson wrote: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.”

Jefferson had faith that an educated citizenry would be able to safeguard our democracy. Thus our faith would be misplaced—indeed it may well be misplaced—if we failed to educate our public, the guarantors of our democracy. Whether we are doing so adequately is an open question.

In answering this question, we cannot rely on blind faith. We must apply what may be termed an “informed faith,” by which we and our elected representatives act on the good governance practices of examining our education system and the various institutions that embody it and holding accountable to the public trust those at all levels whose oversight of education promotes or impedes education for democracy. Only then can we trust in the preservation of our democracy by “the people themselves.”

*The IMF’s Approach to Promoting Good Governance and Combating Corruption—A Guide. Updated June 20, 2005. http://www.imf.org/external/np/gov/guide/eng/index.htm.