2016 Election - The Separation of Culture and State

The 2016 Presidential Election has been challenging. An understatement, obviously.

Not only has it challenged our democratic system and the strength of our union, but it has also touched our citizens personally. Deeply. It’s widely complex. Not just debatable on the way we interpret facts and policy, but also how we are choosing to represent our civilization.

Our government, intentional or not, has become more than a government. It’s the organization we look to as a society that sets the tone of how our culture is supposed to be lived. The things we value. The ideology we pass down. The fundamentals we set and lead by as an example to the rest of the world.

Our government was never intended to be a social and civil barometer of civilization. When we were being founded, we barely squeaked out a war over the world’s largest empire. We were not a super power. We were not the world’s leader. We were not the idealistic posterchild of democracy, freedom, or opportunity. However, the small government our founding fathers created—filled with restrictions of power and checks and balances—allowed us to become the greatest society in the history of man.