John C. Rankin. The Six Pillars of Honest Politics. West Simsbury CT: TEI Publishing House, 2012. Print.

As noted in a previous review, John Rankin has spent his life in the public arena where religion meets government. Giving the reader some background, The Six Pillars of Honest Government enumerates what the author sees as the foundation for honest and just government. He calls this “pre-partisan,” that is, things that all parties ought to be able to agree upon.

1. Life, liberty, and property are rights given to all men by God. It is the duty of all government leaders to serve these gifts to the people.
2. Every level of human government should be as transparent as possible.
3. Political freedom is only possible when all ideas may be discussed on “a level playing field.”
4. Political leaders must honor and answer those who pose hard questions.
5. Even the harshest political opponents share a common humanity and must be treated with respect.
6. All citizens mush be willing to address individual and societal transgressions, and to work towards justice and reconciliation.

This book is devoted to these ideas. Rankin is effective in raising the question about government and rights. Rankin and the American Declaration of Independence affirm that these rights come from God. This, then,  does raise questions about whether such things as abortion or sodomy, while they may be legal, are truly “rights.”

Rankin notes when discussing item #5 that many times Christians miss this. He mentions a conversation he had with a homosexual activist who told him that he was the first clergyman who treated her with respect. Now I might be able to excuse that by saying that most clergy were trained in seminaries that teach some version of “what we teach is correct,  what others teach is wrong.” They often become defensive against other Christians who understand some things differently, let alone someone who has a singularly different belief system.

For many people born before 1980, be they religious or not, homosexual acts are unusual and often carry the high risk of disease. Until around 1980, those who were open about their homosexual behavior tended to use it for shock value or perhaps to draw attention to themselves. Younger people have grown up in a different milieu where someone with an Arabian flu virus is quarantined but where someone with AIDS is protected by privacy laws.

Still, Rankin’s point is valid. Discourse and persuasion are usually much more effective where there is mutual respect. And we need to remember that by God’s standard we are all freakish: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

I admit being a little cautious about point #6. This sounds a lot like the “self-criticism” and “re-education camps” of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. However, if we accept the first five points, then honest discourse without retribution for your beliefs is possible.

The Six Pillars of Honest Politics proposes some major changes in government. Rankin is far more radical than any of the so-called radicals I knew in college in the sixties.  He includes a proposed new state and federal constitution. The big difference with both of his proposals and the current systems is that they make government more honestly small.

He proposes, for example, that the Code of Federal Regulations should not exceed 25 pages. His proposed Federal Constitution is not that different, but its Bill of Rights is a little more explicit. His goal is liberty and respect for everyone, with most liberties in the hands of the people, not the government.

He notes, as many others have, the bogus use of “separation of church and state.” To Illustrate this, tells in detail the story of a high school teacher in a public school near him who was fired because she mentioned the Ten Commandments in a private conversation with a student who had already told her that she believed in them. While regulatory and legal hearings determined that she was within the law and that no school policies were violated, she was never reinstated and has run out of money to appeal her case. Justice for the “little man” can be painfully slow. Persecution in America is selective.

My one observation about this since I am also a high school teacher is this—Where was the teachers’ union in all this? Usually the union will defend teachers against all kinds of things. Unions have become notorious for allowing teachers who have been convicted of pornography, drug, or assault charges to keep their positions. Many systems keep incompetent and law-breaking teachers on their payrolls precisely because it is too much trouble to fight the union. New York City’s “rubber room” is probably the best known example.

What happened in this teacher’s case? I wrote Rev. Rankin, and he kindly answered in an email that their defense was half-hearted because of their own anti-religious bias. Seventy or eighty years ago unions were known for sticking up for the little guy. Now, as they have become part of the establishment, they have taken on the attitudes of other elitists to the detriment of even our Bill of Rights.

The Six Pillars of Honest Politics will get you focused on what is really important in government and political discourse.