Life and Conduct

by J. Cameron Lees

[2] Confession of Faith.

CHAPTER XVI.

CITIZENSHIP.

Citizenship is derived from the Latin word civitas, the state, and comprehends the duties that are binding upon us as members of the state. The first question then that arises in considering these is, What do we mean by the state?

The state may be defined as the larger family.—The family is the origin of the state. (a) In early times government was of the simple kind that prevails in a family. The father was the head of the household and ruled over his children. As these grew up and had families of their own, they naturally looked to the aged head of the family, listened to his counsels, and were guided by his wisdom. Hence the first form of the state was the tribe or clan, and the first form of government was patriarchal. The head of the family governed the tribe. (b) On the death of the patriarch it was necessary that a successor should be appointed. Sometimes he was the son of the patriarch or his nearest descendant. Sometimes he was chosen by the tribe as the strongest and bravest man and most competent to lead them against their enemies. Often tribes combined for mutual protection. Thus nations were formed, and the government passed from the patriarchal to the monarchical form. The head was called the king, which literally means the "father of a people." We trace this growth in government in the history of the Israelites. First, we have the family of Israel in immediate relation with the patriarchs. As the Israelites grew and multiplied, they came under the leadership of Moses, who governed the tribes. Finally, when they settled in the land of Canaan, they became a nation, and were governed by a king. The kingdom was the expansion of the family. (c) In modern times there has been a further development. Government by a king or monarch was in the first instance despotic. It is so in some cases—as in Russia at the present day. The will of the sovereign is the law by which the people are ruled. But just as a wise father relaxes his control over his full-grown sons, and admits them to a share in the government of the household with himself, so the people have in modern times been permitted to exercise power in the state. The head of the state remains, but the main power of government lies with the people. This form of government is called constitutional. In Great Britain we have a limited monarchy; the power of the sovereign is controlled by the will of the people, who have a large share in making the laws. In the United States of America, in France, and in other countries, we have republics, where the voice of the people is supreme, though at the head of the state is a president, elected by the people, and bound to carry out their wishes.

As the state is the larger family, the duties of those who compose it correspond with those belonging to the members of a household.

1. There is the duty of loyalty or patriotism. The first duty of the member of a family is love of home and of those who belong to it. However poor or humble it may be, he feels bound to it by no ordinary ties. He defends its interests. Above all other households, he loves his own the best. The first duty of the citizen is of the same kind. He loves his land; his own country is dearer to him than any other on earth. He is ready to defend it even with his life. The words of Sir Walter Scott, as of many another poet, express this patriotic feeling:

Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land,
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned,
From wandering on a foreign strand.

Many have died for their country's sake, and in all ages this has been thought a specially noble death. History records with affection the names of such men as Wallace, Bruce, William Tell, and Garibaldi, who sacrificed very much for the land they loved. And as "peace has its victories no less renowned than those of war," it has been the pride of others to serve their country by guarding its liberties, increasing its happiness, diminishing its evils, reforming its laws. The flag of a country is the symbol, to those who belong to it, of their common inheritance. Brave men will follow it through the shot and shell of battle. Men have wrapt it round their breasts, and have dyed its folds with their heart's blood to save it from the hands of the enemy; and wherever it waves it calls forth feelings of loyalty and allegiance.

2. Another primary duty of citizenship is obedience to the law. Here again we have the rule of the family extended to the state. The child is bound to obey his parents unless they bid him do what his conscience clearly tells him is wrong; so, a good citizen will obey the laws of his country, unless these laws are so evidently unjust that the good of all demands that they should be resisted. Whatever the law is, he will endeavor to respect and obey it. If he believes it to be an unjust or unrighteous law, he will do his best to get it amended or abolished. It is only in an extreme case, though this opens a subject on which we cannot enter, that he can be justified in refusing obedience. "Let every soul," says Scripture, "be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. . . . Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake."