One of the slipperiest aspects of republican government is the requirement that the citizens of a republic be virtuous. Their moral discernment and scruples come into play, whether in evaluating the claims of their leaders or when called to exercise political leadership themselves. Without virtue, the Founders thought, the entire republican project is doomed, because the power vested in the government is there to be used for the common good.
Where virtue was to come from was a little fuzzy. Some equated virtue with economic self-sufficiency; others thought it followed from a good education—from a familiarity with the past, particularly. For a time early in our history, Americans counted on “republican mothers” to inculcate the necessary virtues in their young. And, throughout the ages, many believed that the right religious spirit could give republican virtue a powerful assist.
Regardless of the specifics, the success of our form of government ultimately depends on something beyond politics. It depends on a culture that encourages prudence and goodness. Unfortunately, in recent decades, wholesomeness and moral restraint have become unfashionable. Society has thrown off a centuries-old association between virtue and the principle of respectability. Virtue, once the cornerstone of reputation, has become an attribute too embarrassingly square to endorse or require.
As a culture, we have no shame. As consumers of news and culture, Americans must tolerate acquaintance with people who behave despicably. We are forced to take an interest in criminals and lowlifes, their heinousness smothered in a blanket of journalistic “objectivity.” To be informed, we explore what journalists and artists have to offer, though these offerings imbue evildoers with celebrity and prestige. In a more intimate society, miscreants would be marginalized, their importance diminished to neutralize their potentially toxic influence on a healthy culture.
Under the circumstances, virtue in America has become a private and personal matter, where once our collective need for it was publicly avowed.
Image: “American Literature & Fine Arts, Rewarding Patriotism & Virtue,”
from this source.
The print, created between 1800 and 1815,
shows the arts working to immortalize George Washington (d. 1799).