I've been
asked why I chose to write a non-fiction book about the Founders’ principles.
Steve Dancy fans seem especially irked that I didn't write another book in my
Western novel series. Before I answer that question, I'd like to assure my
readers that I am currently working on the fourth Steve Dancy Tale. I expect
the book to be available well before Christmas.
In truth, interrupting the series is not
new. I have always written a completely different kind of book after each Steve
Dancy Tale. The Shut Mouth Society
followed The Shopkeeper, Tempest at Dawn followed Leadville, and now Principled Action has followed Murder
at Thumb Butte. This is purposeful. If every other book is outside the Western genre, I'll always be eager to get back to the series and
it will keep the Steve Dancy Tales fresh.
That said, I wrote Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins
of the American Republic because I had developed the theme while preparing
a lecture for the web-based Beck University. The Theme—and resulting book—was a
natural follow-on to Tempest at Dawn,
a historical novel about the Constitutional Convention. Fiction has certain advantages
over non-fiction and vice versa. I meant Principled
Action to be a companion book to Tempest
at Dawn—Tempest engages the
reader by telling an exciting story populated with real people, while Principled Action is explicit in describing
the motivations and beliefs of the Founders. In both books I used the Founders’
own words, but in the novel I modernized the language, and sometimes moved it
around to fit the plot line.
The premise of Principled Action is that there were basic principles that all of
the Founders believed. They disagreed on how to handle many issues, but not
these basic principles.
· Rights Come from God, Not Government
· All Political Power Emanates from the
People
· A Limited, Representative Republic
Protects Liberty
· Consent of the Governed Requires a
Written Constitution
· Liberty Depends on Private Property
Rights
· Power Must Be Balanced and Checked
These are often
called First Principles. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were not
cobbled together like a modern law. These documents were firmly grounded in the
teachings of the brightest thinkers from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment. More
important, these principles were understood and debated by a large portion of
the populous. The United States of America was not founded by fifty-five men
who held a long meeting inside a stuffy room in what we now call Independence
Hall. Our nation was founded by We The
People at Ratification Conventions that were independent of national and
state governments.
The
Constitution never belonged to politicians. It belongs to us. The Constitution
never empowered government. It restrained government. The Constitution does not
protect rights. It orders government to not interfere with rights. The
Constitution is not a list of laws. It defines a government form consistent
with First Principles.
To best convey
the enormity of these ideas, I believed it took the emotion of storytelling and
exactness of non-fiction. Anyway, that’s why I wrote Principled Action, but now I’m enjoying my work on a new shoot ‘em up.