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YJR JP,R LRUD By Bill Brooks For those who touch type, have you ever started a sentence, only to realize that you were one over from the home keys? What would have been a most wonderful phrase suddenly becomes honnrtodj (gibberish). Unfortunately, that’s how it looks sometimes when public policy is made. But when legislators start on the home keys, our laws have a much better chance of making sense. What are the home keys for public policy? I suggest the primary key is truth. What is truth? Students of the New Testament will recognize that question as the crux of Jesus’ trial before a government power during his time on earth—represented by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. The Roman’s question was not an idle one but is of cosmic significance. Truth is one of the home keys of public policy. A failure to begin our analysis of societal problems with a correct understanding of human nature and natural law means the proposed policy won’t accomplish what we say we want it to. I used the previous, and somewhat awkward, sentence because it points to the other home key—honesty. Legislators introduce bills for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it is because they have a sincere desire to change public policy in order to address a societal wrong, correct an injustice, or provide a public good or service within the proper role of government. We can agree that these purposes are noble. Sometimes, however, legislators introduce bills because a lobbyist, a group, or an individual asks them to. Sadly, not all of these bills are helpful to society because they try to achieve the goals of a few at great expense. Many are downright destructive. Our goal is to sift through these measures and separate the good from the bad—the worthy from the unworthy. The good bills reflect an understanding of societal needs and a realistic view of how individuals think and act in response to their own economic interests as moderated by their own belief system. The two legislative home keys are truth and honesty. Now we’re back to Pilate’s question. In his case, the truth was standing right in front of him, embodied in the person of Jesus. Here I have to mention that in our own search for truth, we are foolish if we ignore the truths taught by this man. Let’s assume for a minute that Jesus taught the truth. What does that mean for us who are engaged in the world of public policy. At the very least, it means that we should examine the teachings of Jesus and understand the principles on which he built his policies. Jesus had both principles and policies. The founders of our state and nation were well acquainted with these and built our systems of government upon the belief that man was both imperfect and corruptible. To challenge to this truth, they devised a system of institutional checks and balances. Governmental power was somewhat equally distributed among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. The result was continual controversy. You might say our system was designed for strife, and that discussion and disagreement are good—freedom of speech and the right to express our opinion. In order for this system to work, however, you have to start on the correct home keys. If you don’t, you can be happily typing away, thinking you are making all the right keystrokes—only later to discover your mistake. Human history is replete with examples of public policy gone astray. In order to get it right, there must be a correct understanding of human nature. We also need to agree on the home keys. Truth and honesty are paramount if we are to even begin to solve the problems facing us today. We can’t afford to get off the home keys. We can’t afford to get it wrong. Bill Brooks is president and executive director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council.
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