Democracy: Dimensions of the Democratic Principle

To understand the full dimensions of the democratic world movement it is necessary to understand the doctrine of equal rights more fully.

Stephen Douglas had said that Jefferson, when he wrote that "all men are created equal" only meant that the colonists in America at the time of our revolution wanted the same rights enjoyed by British citizens living in Britain. According to Douglas, it was never intended that these same rights should apply to others. When Lincoln interpreted Jefferson's principle as applicable to all people, and not to just a small group he gave us the correct philosophical basis upon which our entire democratic society is based. But he did much more.

When Lincoln said "we" in his statement "we are all equal in our rights," he was not talking only about Americans living in America. He was talking about every human being living anywhere in the world. And there is yet another significant dimension to his interpretation of Jefferson's principle: he is talking about and referring to every human being that would ever live upon this earth in all future time. In one brief sentence he committed the democratic movement to involvement with the entire human race for all time to come; every human being in every country in the world for all time to come.

There is yet another important dimension to the principle of equality. When Jefferson wrote that "all men are created equal" he presupposes the existence of the Creator. And the Creator is of course, God himself. Jefferson did not invent the principle of equality, what he did was to point out that God originated and authored the principle. This places the democratic world movement in an extremely strong and unique position. A movement based on a principle authored by God himself would appear to have a bright and promising future.

But if the democratic world movement is based upon God's principle then when the democratic world movement moves forward does that mean that God's principle is also moving forward? And if all of that is true is God using the democratic world movement as a means of advancing His principle throughout the world, thereby having a hand in the development of human history?

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