Actually, there is only one first question of government, and it is How should we live? or What kind of people do we want our citizens to be?
Interpretation
The essence of government lies in guiding how individuals live and shaping the character of its citizens.
George Will suggests that the fundamental concern of any government should be the moral and ethical framework within which its citizens operate. Rather than focusing solely on laws or policies, the primary question that should guide governance is centered on the values and qualities that society wishes to nurture in its people. This reflective approach moves beyond mere governance and touches on the deeper philosophical issues of purpose and community.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political debate to emphasize the importance of values in governance.
The problem with intelligent-design theory, is not that it is false but that it is not falsifiable. Not being susceptible to contradicting evidence, it is not a testable hypothesis. Hence it is not a scientific but a creedal tenet - a matter of faith, unsuited to a public school's science curriculum.
The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture of complaint.
Correct thinkers think that 'baseball trivia' is an oxymoron: nothing about baseball is trivial.
Constitutional arguments that seem as dry as dust can have momentous consequences.
The civil forfeiture law - if something so devoid of due process can be dignified as law - is an incentive for perverse behavior: Predatory government agencies get to pocket the proceeds from property they seize from Americans without even charging them with, let alone convicting them of, crimes. Criminals are treated better than this because they lose the fruits of their criminality only after being convicted.
The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.
Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.
When we die, these are the stories still on our lips. The stories weβll only tell strangers, someplace private in the padded cell of midnight. These important stories, we rehearse them for years in our head but never tell. These stories are ghosts, bringing people back from the dead. Just for a moment. For a visit. Every story is a ghost.
Ask most people who live in a home and have a mortgage on it whether they own their own home and the answer is almost guaranteed to be a resounding 'yes'. Yet it's the wrong answer. Technically speaking, until they have paid the mortgage off, they don't own it. Herein lies the difference between reality and illusion, between ownership and control. This confusion lies not only at the individual level, but also at the heart of government thinking.
If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice between anarchy and dictatorship. Most people will opt for more security, even if they have to give up some personal freedom.
The heaviest penalty for deciding to engage in politics is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.
We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.
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