Lafayette on Republicanism and Popular Sovereignty

"Our revolution was the first in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government – and that with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. "We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution, however, is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it may do. "We the People" are free. This belief has been the foundation for everything I've tried to achieve in the past eight years. But in the 1960s, when I began, it seemed to me we had begun to reverse the order of things. Through more and more rules, regulations, and crushing taxes, the government took more of our money, more choices, and more freedom. I went into politics to raise my hand and say "Stop!" I was a citizen, a politician by conviction – and it seemed the right thing to do. I think we have stopped much of what needed to be stopped. And I hope we have reminded people that man is not free if government has no limits. There is a clear connection here, as clear and predictable as a law of nature: As government grows, liberty shrinks." Ronald Reagan