On his new Fox News television program former Republican Congressman, Trey Gowdy opines on why he thinks that maintaining law and order is the most important function of government. Watch:
Have you ever wondered why we have government in the first place? Have you ever wondered why we consented to be governed, why we gathered ourselves together as a people and subjected ourselves to this thing called law? Whether it’s the local, state, or federal level, there has to be a purpose, a reason for joining hands and forming this thing called government. And then allowing that government, to pass and enforce laws, which can incent and prevent individual acts and decisions.
We are after all a nation of laws and not a nation of men and women as John Adams famously said. Even as I pose that question, I’m sure there are words and phrases going through your mind. You may believe that education is the primary function or responsibility of government, especially at the state and local level. Perhaps you believe it is regulating commerce or providing for our common national defense. Perhaps you believe the purpose of government is to safeguard your natural rights. Perhaps you believe it is to provide a common currency or build and maintain our roads and bridges and airports.
When you look at government, across all three levels, local, state, and federal, all of those answers are correct. But I would list something else first. I would start with something else. I would list public safety number one. Public safety is the preeminent function of government. That’s what I believe. But it’s not just me. If you look at the very beginning, the preamble to our U.S. Constitution, you will see this:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare.
Every one of those phrases has something to do with public safety, with law and order, with protection. So when I see spikes in crime, I view it as both proof of why we have government in the first place, which is because everyone cannot be counted on to treat their fellow citizens with respect and dignity, and I also view rising crime rates as a failure of government to meet its number one priority, and I don’t care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat or any other party, politics is of very little significance, if you’re dead, injured, robbed, or assaulted, I never had a political conversation with a crime victim or a cop or a fellow prosecutor. Never. Public safety is too important to be just another political tool…
