We have all heard the biblical admonition, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Those words are straight out of the Bible and found in Matthew, 12:25, where Jesus issues this admonition and warning:
“And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”
The House and Senate are totally divided, one from the other. And each of them is divided within itself. It can be argued that the Founders wanted the division to serve citizens by restraining abuse and tyranny. The three branches of the Republic, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial were never meant to operate with perpetual unity and agreement.
What is the glue that holds the fabric of the nation and its government together? The Founders believed it was our individual and collective virtue. In a word, morality. It was Richard Henry Lee who said to Colonel Martin Pickett, on March 5, 1786:
“It is certainly true that a popular government cannot flourish without virtue in the people.”
What is the history of this congressional and party division? Since 1857, the government has been unified just 48 times, 23 under Democratic control and 25 under Republican control.
Today, the battle has degenerated into secular ideology, power, control, elitism, and perpetuity of office. In many ways, our collective virtue has been hollowed out.
Click here to visit the Balance of Power page to see who has held power in the US Government since 1857.