The house of representatives…can make no law which will not have its full operation on themselves and their friends, as well as the great mass of society. This has always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which human policy can connect the rulers and the people together. It creates between them that communion of interest, and sympathy of sentiments, of which few governments have furnished examples; but without which every government degenerates into tyranny. James Madison, Federalist No. 57, February 19, 1788
We can presume that Madison’s concept as expressed in Federalist No. 57 was a view that most of the Founding Fathers espoused. But none of them invented this noble idea. Its roots are embedded in a great book of law that has been handed down for thousands of years, although rarely taken seriously as a law book that might apply to our modern world.
In this ancient book of law, the king was instructed to "write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left." (Deut. 17:18-20 NIV, Emphasis added)
In our historical context we might think of the king as being the absolute ruler, the one who makes the rules and by extension one who can exclude himself from the rules he imposes on others. Israel’s law was unique in that any monarchy that might arise (and the scriptures sternly warned the nation against the dangers of monarchy) was to be a limited monarchy, limited by the rule of law. Sadly in our day — even in a nation founded on the rule of law as opposed to the rule of lawmakers — our duly elected officials routinely exempt themselves from the burdens they impose on others. If your company were to run its pension system the way Congress runs its own, your boss would likely find himself behind bars.
Among other things, the House of Representatives exempts itself from EPA standards, OSHA, the Freedom of Information Act, and from making Social Security contributions for Congressional staff. In fact, there is a page on the House of Representatives website that lists the various acts of Congress that our duly elected representatives do not apply to themselves. Google "Congressional Exemptions" and you’ll get an eyeful.
As Madison warned, every such government eventually degenerates into tyranny.
Implicit in both Madison’s comments and in Deuteronomy is the simple concept that no one is above the law, even the king. If the kings of Europe, who had access to that book of law, had lived by it, Europe would have been saved a history of grief. I suspect future historians will say the same thing about us. A real leader does not "consider himself better than his brothers", but the lures of power make that easy to forget.
Lenny Cacchio
